PACKED with rich history and an emerging nightlife for all ages, is a small community in the north of the island called Moon Town.
This quaint and historic village comes alive on weekend nights, with patrons from all over the island visiting the location, whether to party, have a drink, grab a bite or just hang out.
Visitors to the island can also be found at the fetchingly popular location enjoying local cuisine and the nice country atmosphere, mainly Thursdays through Sundays.
This St Lucy town has seen many changes over the years and some residents have mixed views about its development over the decades as they recalled some of the earlier days and forecast what they would like to see for years to come.
According to businessman of over ten years, Denis Kellman, Moon Town was a unique location for nightlife entertainment and a special type of tourism. He said it was one of the locations in Barbados where people would feel at home.
“The most beers are consumed in Moon Town. Moon Town is an action spot right through the year . . . St Lucy is a place where people can trust each other and now everyone wants to be a part of it. If you come here on weekends you will find people from all across Barbados, St Philip, Christ Church, you name it. And when you ask them, they tell you that this is where they feel comfortable. When you come here, you come to enjoy yourself. It is a family atmosphere,” he said.
One of the community’s oldest residents is Rudolph Griffith, affectionately known as Hector. He is in his late 70s and still uses his bicycle as a means of transportation. Griffith said while he had travelled outside of Barbados a few times, he would not leave Moon Town to go live anywhere else.
“I started fishing in 1948 and my last fishing trip was in 2008. I live here all my life. The area has developed so much. I remember the 1930s I used to live in a rent house when I used to have my bed under my parent’s bed . . . We used to have to go and cut the grass and dry it to stuff the beds. Then later on people started getting their own little things and better furniture,” he recalled.
Griffith is one of the most well-known residents. He said while he welcomed the development in the area, he hoped it would not attract any violence.
“The area has potential to become a major town. There are a few things I would love to see. I want the Government to pay more attention to the young people. Some time ago we would have as many as 42 boats down there where they used to build them but look now. I like how on Friday nights, people come and enjoy themselves. They come and drink and party all through the night,” said Griffith.
George “Todd” Boyce, who is also in his late 70s, used to be a hawker in that village. He said he was not the party type but he found the nightlife in the area to be “all right”.
“How it going on it is all right. I used to walk all about but not anymore. I visit the businesses when I want food and that is all,” said a shy Boyce.
Lindsay “Fiba” Babb, 39, who has been selling bottled gas and operating a bar in the area since 2002 after his father took sick, said the little village was being slowly developed and he was looking forward to the preservation of its invaluable history and heritage.
“Moon Town has a lot of history. People from all over the country and world come and support the businesses. We have people visit from Denver, Colorado and we have a lot of Bajan Yankees. But like I said, two things we need, one is the parking and the other is the preservation of the history of the area. The little I can do I will do and that is why I haven’t done many changes to my building. It is about 55 years old,” said Babb.
One female resident, Carmaleta Collins, 50, agreed that there were changes in the area but it was not “a lot”, noting that she would prefer it not to change too much either.
“I don’t want to see any big changes like Oistins though, I like it just the way it is. I still do my fish selling. I have always lived in this town all my life. As it is now, I don’t have any problems with the entertainment but to get more it would just be more noise and more sleepless nights,” said the self employed resident with a smile.
Collins recalled some of her earlier days.
“Moon Town is the best place in Barbados; there are a lot of people who leave where they are from and come here and sell. It was the biggest fishing town one time when I was growing up. It is an entertainment spot these days. Oh yeah! We get good night life from Thursday to Sunday and if it is a bank holiday we got the Monday too,” she said.
“Everybody wants to be in Moon Town. When people die in Moon Town you should see people boy, everybody is turn out. I like our unique style,” said Collins excitedly.
Lloyd Archer, 74, who is a returning resident, said when he left Barbados and headed to the United States about 45 years ago, Moon Town was not as developed as it was now.
“This is where I grew up. That is one of the reasons I came back right here. When I was growing up there was hardly anything going on. We only had about three cars in my village but now I came back I can see hundreds. I can’t count them.
“I think it is a nice area for tourism. The people here are really civil and nice . . . believe you me, I have travelled all over Barbados since I came back and Moon Town is the place I just want to be. And one thing I can tell you, the prices in other places are not even close to the ones here. We have the best prices on the island,” boasted Archer.
According to Babb: “As a fishing village, I believe we have more history in Barbados than any other part of the island.” He warned however, that in years to come “if we don’t be careful, we might lose all the historic structures for money”.
