Providenciales hosts an Island Fish Fry on Thursday nights that serves to bring most of the island together; local food vendors, craft workers and artisans set up booths on either side of the large stage, where ripsaw artists (ripsaw artists use a craftsman’s handsaw to produce unlikely yet beautifully energetic music) like the Sea Breeze Rip Saw Band play signature Turks & Caicos jams. This is a fantastic place to sample local food and spirits, shop for handmade crafts and art, and meet local folk. Each fish fry ends with a raucous Junkanoo parade, a spirited, costumed affair that inspires a whole lot of audience participation. Henry the Conch, the island’s de facto mascot, is a frightening cross between a Pokémon character and something from the annals of H.P. Lovecraft’s twisted imagination. Of course, kids love Henry.
