noun (also calabash tree)
an evergreen tropical American tree that bears fruit in the form of large woody gourds.
- a gourd from this tree.
- a water container, tobacco pipe, or other object made from the dried shell of this or a similar gourd.
Calabash is a restaurant, with a licensed live music venue. The entertainment features live performances of reggae, hip-hop, funk, and poetry. Local artists are making Calabash an epi-centre of the Vancouver music scene. There is a DJ spinning all day, and night, for afternoon and evening loungin'. Music is essential to the Calabash experience where the island sound is bumping all day.
The downstairs lounge area of Calabash hosts Foundation Radio, an online radio station that plays roots, reggae, jazz, blues, motown and funk music. Calabash has created an intimate live venue that Vancouver needs for smaller bands and musicians to rise up, and grow their talent. Music is the voice of history in the Carribean, from the drum circle of the Nyabinghi, to the modern day reggae legends who gave the poor peoples a voice, and a pride in their nation. Music is the vital link for Carribean the diaspora to maintain strong connections to their mother cultres. British reggae legends Steel Pulse once said "We must create our scene/We must re-capture our culture by any means." Down Stairs in the lounge of Calabash that culture is thriving.