Many of us consider the Cup Match holiday as Bermuda’s Christmas — the most wonderful time of the year.

It is four, highly anticipated, back-to-back days of traditions celebrating our heritage and filled with family, friends, food, fun and entertainment.

This year was action-packed, starting on Saturday, July 23 with the first Cup Match Summer Splash concert. The show was unforgettable and featured international reggae artist Jah Cure and Bermuda’s very own Collie Buddz. Both artists sang their top hits, while the crowd at Par-la-Ville car park rocked and belted out the lyrics.

Part two took place on Cup Match eve, Wednesday, July 27 and was headlined by the “King of the Dancehall”, Beenie Man and popular reggae cover artist Sanchez. Highlights for the night included Walshy Fire from the electronic multi-genre band, Major Lazer and Canadian DJ, Skratch Bastid, who dubbed his own version of Hubert Smith’s Bermuda is Another World.

Day one of the Cup Match Classic on Thursday, July 28, consisted of revellers heading down to Somerset Cricket Club to watch the game as well as Horseshoe Bay, where hundreds of tents were lined across the beach as they are every year.

DJ Skratch Bastid also performed again for beachgoers alongside Deejay Theory from San Francisco, Jabba from Hot 97 in New York, and Rusty G.

On day two, Friday July 29, thousands attended the match and watched Somerset retain the Cup after a draw with St George’s. The two days were then celebrated by many at the tenth anniversary of one of the holiday’s biggest events, Soca v Reggae.

The concert, titled “Champion of Champions”, took place on The Lawn in Dockyard and featured multiple local and international DJ’s and artists such as Mr Vegas, Soca Twins, Giselle D’Wassi One and Sknny Fabulous. Ultimately, the winner of SvR was team reggae who was well represented by YGS, King Jyrus and Magnum Force Sound System.

The Saturday after Cup Match may be seen as a rest day for some, but Party People Entertainment made sure that was not the case for the “soca junkies” in particular.

The popular carnival band and promotion team hosted their first Bacchanal Run — an alternative J’ouvert concept that allowed participants to follow a huge truck from the Bermuda Police Club field to a party at Bernard’s Park while dancing and being coated in neon powder and paint.

The weekend concluded with the 44th annual Non-Mariners race and raft-up at Mangrove Bay in Somerset.

The event has quickly grown into the one thing you must do on the holiday, with thousands of people on boats and inflatables gathering for a party on the water. It was a spectacular highlight of our summer — and in 363 days we’ll do it all over again.