The Trinidad and Tobago Carnival is an annual event held on the Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday in Trinidad and Tobago. The event is well known for participants’ colorful costumes and exuberant celebrations.
Carnival is the most significant event on the islands’ cultural and tourism calendar, with numerous cultural events such as “band launch fetes” running in the lead up to the street parade on Carnival Monday and Tuesday. It is said that if the islanders are not celebrating it, then they are preparing for it, while reminiscing about the past year’s festival. Traditionally, the festival is associated with calypso music; however, recently Soca music has replaced calypso as the most celebrated type of music. Costumes, stick-fighting and limbo competitions are also important components of the festival.
Carnival as it is celebrated in Trinidad and Tobago is also celebrated in cities worldwide.These including Toronto’s Caribana, Miami’s Miami Carnival, Houston Carifest, London’s Notting Hill Carnival as well as New York City’s Labor Day Carnival to name a few.