By: Tresha Nelson
The Crop Over Festival attracts thousands of travellers each year, eager to take in the colourful sights, sounds and savoury experiences that reflect Barbadian artistry and culture. American television host and media personality, Scott Evans, best known as a co-anchor for Access Hollywood and for his Webby Award-Winning YouTube Series House Guest, was one such visitor.
Like so many others this year, Scott made the trip to Barbados to enjoy the revelry of the sweetest summer festival for the very first time. While his sojourn was filled with pulsating soca fetes, exclusive beachside breakfast parties and the ultimate masquerade on Grand Kadooment Day, it was marked by a much deeper purpose – researching his Barbadian ancestry.
Scott’s fact-finding mission into his Barbadian lineage could not have come at a better time. Through the year-long We Gatherin’ initiative, communities across the island continue to unite in celebration of Barbados’ rich heritage, while Bajans living abroad and those of Bajan descent are encouraged to visit, reconnect with or discover their roots.
And oh, what a discovery Scott had! He explained, “I brought my family – my brothers, my mother, my best friend, my partner. We all came down to see and feel the tie, the connection we have with this island and it’s been an incredible experience, truly! We started at the archives, we finished at the place where my great-great grandmother was baptized and I mean it’s been incredible!”
In celebrating Crop Over, while also embracing his Bajan familial bonds, Scott reminds us that identity is more than who we are now – it engenders where we have come from. In Bajan parlance, “his navel string” may not be buried here, but we certainly welcome him as family!
