Here's the 10 to 1 countdown of Top 10 Best Carnivals/Festivals in the World
10. Mardi Gras in New Orleans, 12th February
This originated as a French fertility ritual. In 1699 Iberville, the French explorer, stopped on the banks of the Misissipi river and celebrated the advent of Spring as he knew his fellow countrymen were back in France doing likewise. There is no record of women attending this event, hence we may concluded this Mardi Gras was beadless. Today beads define this event but there are lots of other great reasons to go there like the music and parades
9. Barranquilla Colombia, 9th - 12th February
In 2003, UNESCO declared Barranquilla's carnival to be a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. Every year thousands of tourists declare Barranquilla's carnival to be a Masterpiece of Partying. This festival is a fusion of European, African and Indian traditions. This begins four days before Ash Wednesday and reaches its climax the next Saturday during Batalla de las Flores/battle of the flowers where the colour of the Colombians come face to face in a unique battle of color, flowers, beauty, and peace. The typical carnival characters of Rey Momo, María Moñitas, and Hombre Caimán are involved in this parade as well as the carnaval queen, dwarves and large puppet heads!
8. Brooklyn Carnival, 30th August - 3rd September
The West Indie Carnival in Brooklyn begins at 11am an the route is Utica Avenue to Grand Army Plaza along Eastern Parkway. This celebration takes place from the Thursday to Labor day with a Dimanche Gras/Fat Sunday, a Kiddie Carnival and a steel drum competition then the main parade on Labor Day Monday. This is New Yorks biggest outdoor event attracting over a million party people and the traditions of the Labor Day are mainly Caribbean- this is one not to be missed
7. India's Goa Carnival, 9th - 12th February
Nowhere else in India celebrates carnival as it was introduced by the Portuguese who ruled over Goa for over five hundred years.This festival was actually in decline before the liberation of Goa and since then it has attracted thousands of visitors from all around the globe. Despite being a Christians celebration the three-day street party has also taken many Hindu and western traditions.
6. Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival, 3rd - 16th February
Once banned by the Spanish dictator Franco this is one of the biggest crowd pullers in the world. None of the usual rules apply here: there is lots of cross dressing and the patry doesn't hit the streets until midnight!
Tenerife's carnaval begins with the opening parade & the election of a Carnaval Queen followed. Maids of Honour and entourages are driven through the streets of Santa Cruz and Puerto de la Cruz accompanied by the traditional ‘murgas’ in clown costume and other revellers in colorful costumes.
5. Notting Hill, 25th - 26th August
This is the second biggest carnival in the world, Notting Hill usually brings crowds of about a million people observing and about 60,000 people participating in the performances. The carnival has 5 types of music : Calypso, Steel pan / pans, Mas (masquerade), Static and Mobile systems. There’s a great variety of African and Caribbean beats.
4. Oruro Bolivia, 8th - 11th February
Expect Around 600,000 people line the streets during Oruro Carnival with hundreds of traditional Bolivian bands, thousands of traditional dancers and a procession that takes a full day to end. The parade is led by San Miguel who is followed by devils, El Tio - lord of the underworld and lots of conquistadores painted like devils. This parade makes its way to the soccer stadium where good triumphs over evil through the art of dance. Also many farmers and miners offer the fruit of their labour for the carnival.
3. Rio De Janeiro, 9th - 12th February
When people think carnaval they think Rio De Janeiro. This city oozes cool from Ipanema to Copacabana and the coolness peaks in the days leading up to lent. The streets of Rio are lined with samba schools and as blocos pass through the streets there is a deafening thunder of drums. The humidity is too much for scantilly clad locals who chase the blocos around town. The well known Rio blocos include
2. Olinda, Brazil, 8th - 13th February
The festival has a more African influence compared to the European feel of the Rio carnival which is evident in the flirty dances like the gut flexing bate-coxa, the umbrella-spinning frevo, the noble maracatú or the extremely graceful caboclinho. The carnival celebrations can start as early as December in Olinda & neighbouring city of Recife so a trip to the Pernambuco could encompass a couple of days in each. In Recife the carnival on Boa Viage can be overpriced and you will get a more authenthic experience at Recife Antigo. Try to get to Galo da Madrugada it's a rooster crowing world and kicks off a serious party at 5.30am on the first Saturday of carnival in Bairro de São José.. Salvador de Bahia is also great for carnival butwe have to stop here before we name every town in Brazil.
1. Trinidad's Carnival, 11th - 12th February
Trinidad's carnival is the meeting of European religion, brought by the Settlers, and African culture, brought by African slaves, who were also paying respect to African mythology and music. If you're going to make it here plan well ahead.
