Fete Like No Tomorrow

Carnival…The GREATEST Show On Earth!!

Move over Mardi Gras, step aside Rio Carnaval, Trinidad & Tobago has the greatest pre-Lenten celebration in the world. Each year, over 40,000 visitors join 780,000 locals to jump, dance and wave to the beat of pulsating soca rhythms during the Caribbean’s largest and most anticipated cultural mega-festival, Trinidad Carnival. Known as “The Greatest Show on Earth,” this annual celebration is not just a typical parade where bystanders stand alongside the road and watch the masquerade bands go by – they join in, sing, dance and are completely immersed in the festivities.

We tend to agree that “the greatest show on earth” is a cliché that doesn’t really describe Trinidad’s Carnival at its core… A more accurate term capturing the revellery of Carnival Monday and Tuesday might be “the world’s greatest street party!”

But if you’re new to Trinidad Carnival, know that most everything else you’ve heard about it is true. Yes, people dance and party in the streets for two days straight. People let loose for weeks before the dancing and partying in the streets on Carnival Monday and Tuesday. Yes, it’s the mother of West Indian-style carnivals throughout the Americas. You can get a taste of the experience in New York, Toronto, London and other Caribbean strongholds the world over, but you won’t know true Trini Carnival experience until you return to the source. And yes, love it or hate it, it is a uniquely Trinidadian experience you are unlikely to forget.

The excitement builds the week before Carnival, with wall-to-wall fêtes, events and competitions. Early on “Fantastic Friday” morning, stickfighters, moko jumbies and a cast of actors and dancers descend on east Port of Spain to re-enact the Canboulay Riots. In the early afternoon, traditional Carnival characters take the spotlight in Port of Spain. And as 9pm hits, some of the biggest soca stars begin to vie for the Soca Monarch crowns.

The streets belong to the children on Carnival Saturday for Kiddies Carnival at the Savannah; some of the finest costume designs are seen right there. Once night falls, steelbands clash at Panorama, the greatest showcase for the instrument anywhere in the world.

Sunday – Dimanche Gras – is reserved for two of the hallmarks of Carnival: the breathtaking costumes of would-be Kings and Queens of Carnival, and the race for the Calypso Monarch crown.

The Climax: Carnival Monday & Tuesday

From 4am Monday morning, scores of people chip and slither through the streets of the country’s cities, covered in paint, grease and mud. This is J’ouvert, with traditional Carnival characters like jab jabs, blue devils, and bats, alongside those in outrageous costumes – or just old clothes. Once the sun comes up, most stagger into bed to sleep off the high (natural or induced). This is J’ouvert!

Around 11am the action picks up again as thousands flock into Port of Spain to meet their band (or the one they intend to crash). Almost no one is in full costume, though – the joy is in just being in the streets, with music and merriment continuing well after dark.

Tuesday starts early, and bands typically dance along specific routes between judging posts, where adjudicators choose the next Band of the Year. Some with less energy crash at sundown, but others keep following the huge music trucks until last lap. It’s only then, or perhaps on the beach the next day (a post-Carnival tradition), that you can finally permit sleep to come.

So be sure to plan your next trip around February or March so you can experience the GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH!! 

Check out this video below!