More than nightclubs: your Tobago entertainment guide

 

For chilling out after sunset, there are plenty of bars, clubs, hotels and restaurants that offer good drinks, live performances, tasty food and good company.
 

For happy hours, try Sundowners Bar with its sunset views of Store Bay, or the Pavilion Restaurant and Seahorse Inn which both offer exquisite views of Stonehaven Bay.
 

Sports bars like the snazzy new Bar Code in Scarborough (639-CODE, www.barcodetobago.com) are an emerging format in Tobago. Here you can enjoy an array of signature drinks and local or international dishes, while taking in a seaside view. You can shoot some pool afterwards, catch one of the sports games on their big-screen TV, or enjoy a live performance.
 

While the clubs are really pumping on the weekends, some – especially in the Crown Point area – present mid-week entertainment, with local bands, drummers, dance groups and theme nights. In season, Golden Star presents variety shows and the Scouting for Talent competition (followed by DJ music and dancing).
 

Friday and Saturday are big nights at The Shade nightclub, while Tobago’s other club, The Deep, is open every night. And of course, you can’t forget “Sunday School” every Sunday night at Buccoo Village, where both tourists and locals gather along the streets of the village to enjoy local food, steel band music, and popular DJs.

There is a multiplex MovieTowne cinema at the new Gulf City Lowlands Mall.

 

The Itsy Bitsy Folk Theatre presents dinner theatre several Tuesdays during the year. The dance and music communities (particularly the drummers) are quite vibrant on the island: many groups meet regularly every week for practice, and guest at various events. These are also the groups who take the stage at the Tobago Heritage Festival in July – not to be missed if you really want to know Tobago.

Tobago is staging big music concerts these days, often featuring Jamaican dancehall or reggae singers – more choices on the entertainment menu.
 

Not that music is confined to big events. Bars, clubs, hotels and restaurants feature local performers as regular and rotating headliners, with theme nights reserved for hip-hop, jazz, Latin, reggae, R&B, and of course calypso, soca and steelpan music.
 

April is jazz month, with local, regional and international jazz (and non-jazz) talent and aficionados descending on the island for the annual jazz festival.

 

There is a small but impressive visual arts community in Tobago. Artists like Luise Kimme (639-0257, www.luisekimme.com) and Martin and Rachael Superville (owners of The Art Gallery) have impressive studios with original artwork on display or for sale. The Tobago Museum (639-3970) at Fort King George in Scarborough exhibits local art. Other well-known artists include Jim Armstrong, Kevin Ayoung-Julien, Edward Hernandez, David Knott, and Earl Manswell.