Holders Season

With weekly polo matches, horse races and National Trust cocktail parties, winter months in Barbados provide plenty of opportunities to schmooze and hobnob. The biggest event on the social calendar is Holders Season, an annual, two-week-long performing-arts festival typically held in late February/early March at Holders Estate, the home of Wendy Kidd (mother of supermodel Jodie and socialite Jemma). The roster tends to include a taste of everything—from opera and Shakespeare to comedy shows and philosophical discussions on love—and it usually attracts a lot of big-name international talent. Tickets are reasonably priced (Barbados is home to the affordable high-society event), but they sell out quickly.