Trinidad and Tobago Carnival

Carnival
Members of a costume band parade on the streets of Port of Spain
Observed by	Trinidad and Tobago
Type	Cultural
Significance	Week before Lent
Celebrations	processions, music, dancing, and the use of masquerade
Date	Monday and Tuesday before Lent
Frequency	Annual
Related to	Caribbean Carnival, Mardi Gras, Carnival, Shrove Monday, Ash Wednesday, Lent

The Trinidad and Tobago Carnival is an annual event held on the Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday in Trinidad and Tobago. This event is well known for participants' colorful costumes and exuberant celebrations. There are 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, with its origins formulated in the midst of hardship for enslaved West and Central Africans; however, recently Soca music has replaced calypso as the most celebrated type of music. Costumes (sometimes called "mas"), stick-fighting and limbo competitions are also important components of the festival.^[1]

Carnival, as it is celebrated in Trinidad and Tobago, is also celebrated in several cities worldwide. These celebrations include Toronto's Caribana, Miami's Miami Carnival, Houston Carifest, London's Notting Hill Carnival, as well as New York City's Labor Day Carnival.