Trinidad and Tobago Carnival

The Trinidad and Tobago Carnival is an annual event held on the Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, and is well known for participant's colorful costumes and exuberant celebrations.

Carnival in Trinidad and Tobago is the most significant event on the islands' cultural and tourism calendar, with numerous cultural events 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. The heart of the musical celebration has been calypso; recently soca has replaced calypso as the most celebrated type of music. Costumes, stickfighting 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, most notably in Rio de Janeiro and other Brazilian cities but also including Toronto's Caribana, Miami's Miami Carnival, New Orleans Mardi Gras, Houston Carifest, London's Notting Hill Carnival as well as New York City's Labor Day Carnival to name a few.

Carnival was created when the indetured laborers and slaves who saw the French celebrating in costume and mimicked them while combining aspects from their own cultures (predominantly African).