The biggest tradition of Tortola is the celebration of its emancipation. The celebration is called a festival with a two weeklong celebration beginning the last week of July and ending the first week of August. The festival is a nationwide celebration of freedom from colonization, and the Emancipation Act which helped abolish slavery. The festival involves food fairs where all the native foods are made, beach invasions, concerts at the village, horse race, sporting events, boat racing, and so on. The festival starts with nights of events at the village, an open space in the middle of the town, where people come together and showcase local and international music and food. Following, on the first Monday in August starting at 3am is what the town likes to call a J’ouvert which is a noisy parade where people are following behind reggae bands on a truck, while dancing down a street. The use of paint, powder, and water all unify the people for good times. This is a moment where you can be free and let go. A few hours later around 1pm is the grand parade where people come together and showcase the cultural history of the island with different performances and troops. During the parade the troops try to use their performances to show the origins and values of the islands dating all the way back to 1834 when slavery was first abolished. This is to show everything they’ve been through and how far they’ve come now that they are free. The traditions of Tortola are truly one of a kind.