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Carnival is Trinidads main event. Rumours of Carnival celebrations, music, talk of the fetes start right after Christmas. The excitement for a the days before ash Wenesday is incredible. Costume designed, preparations being made, steel bands rehersing. It is a lively time.

It is difficult to say when exactly Carnival starts. It kind of builds up over a couple of months. The parties start weeks before the actual celebration. The first celebration of Carnival is Jouvert. It officially starts at Monday 4 am, but most just stay up all night. Big trucks blasting music with hundreds of people dancing along behind as they drive through the streets. Support vehicles with alcohol, paint and in some cases toilets. Thousands in the street celebrating.

The highlight of Jouvert for me was mud mass. This was hillarious. Traditionally people covered themselves with mud. Times have advanced, now people cover themselves and everyone around them with paint, chocolate, sugar, you name it. What fun!

You can imagine the site. Loud music in the dark, dancing people following happily along dousing themselves with whatever they can get their hands on. The sun comes up slowly to reveal the bright colours created in the darkness.

Jouvert ends around 10 am. The party keeps going though. The focus of the experience being the parade of the bands. A band being a group of people expressing a different theme. Could be 10 people, could be a couple of thousand.

If you have seen Carnival photos likely the colourfull costumes are from the parade of the bands. The Savannah is where the bands flaunt their stuff on stage, afterwards they continue to Parade through the streets of Port of Spain. The parade of the bands lasts 2 days.

What is the history behind Carnival? Many Trinidadians believe it has to do with slavery. In reality Carnival came to the caribbean with the French and the Spanish. The celebration mixed with lively african culture and music to create something unique to each area of the Caribbean. Carnival looks different every where you go. Rio Dejenaro, New Orleans and each Caribbean island has developed its own experience combining local culture with Carnival culture.

Carnival is the lead up before the cathoic ash Wedensday. Lent and mass to pray for forgiveness for the years sins. Carnival exists to ensure that Trinidadians have done something worth needing forgiveness for.