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Carnival & Mardi Gras
Celebrate Mardi Gras Around the World
Carnival & Mardi Gras
Talk about partying on a global scale. Carnival/Mardi Gras celebrations, typically held the two weeks before the start of Lent, always include music, parades, food and drink, and dancing on a grand scale. Sort of like bingeing before embarking on a diet, revelers at celebrations the world over gorge on the good life until Carnival's last day 'Mardi Gras' (a.k.a. Fat Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday and Pancake Day). Here's a lively roundup of some of the most colorful such celebrations in Rio de Janeiro, New Orleans, Sydney, Venice, Nice, Trinidad & Tobago and Quebec City.
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Feb 20-24, 2009
For most world partiers, the Brazilian Carnival in Rio de Janeiro is the Big Daddy of all the planet's celebrations. Although the modern Brazilian Carnival dating back to the 1830s was similar to the celebrations in Europe, over time it has taken on a singular life of its own. Today, the event includes lavish balls, elaborate costumes, delicious food, colorful floats and a whole lotta samba and debauchery, drawing thousands upon thousands to Rio. But what truly sets this celebration apart are the blocos, community groups of costumed musicians and dancers (many with their own hard-core devotees), who crowd the streets, encouraging onlookers to follow suit. Of course, the highlight of Carnival is the crazy Samba School Parade event that takes place in the Sambadromo with 60,000 or so revelers on the Sunday and Monday before Fat Tuesday. While millions tune in to the live broadcast, 14 top samba schools --comprised of costumed dancers, percussionists and performers atop otherworldly floats--compete for bragging rights for best show. For details go to www.rio-carnival.net.
New Orleans, USA
Feb 24, 2009
Giving Rio a run for its money is New Orleans' famed Mardi Gras. As the saying goes, Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez. In Louisiana, there's an entire Carnival season (beginning on Twelfth Night) when parades and balls aplenty get the party started. And for the two weeks before Fat Tuesday, at least one major parade takes place every day. But the most grandiose and elaborate parades, events and parties are reserved for the last five raucous, city-never-sleeps days of the season. The eye-catching floats filled with costumed and masked participants organized by Carnival krewes elicit screams of delight and cheers from the crowds as float-riders toss (most famously) cheap beads and other goodies--from plastic toys and trinkets to the traditional doubloons, which are dollar-sized coins of wood or aluminum often embossed with the krewe name. The normally hopping French Quarter is on triple overdrive during Mardi Gras, as its streets are clogged with revelers of all shapes and sizes for the event's duration. For details go to www.mardigrasneworleans.com/.
Sydney, Australia
Feb 14 - March 7, 2009
It may have started out as a local gay pride event, but the 30-year-old Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras has come a long way, baby. In fact, Conde Nast recently named it one of the Top 10 most spectacular costume events in the world. A three-week-long calendar of colorful goings-on and activities include dance parties, a film festival, concerts, sports activities and family-friendly Fair Day. But the highlight of the saucy event, attended by hundreds of thousands of people, is the spectacular nighttime Mardi Gras Parade (reportedly the largest event of its kind) followed by the Grand Ball that doesn't end until the next morning. For more details go to www.mardigras.org.au.
Venice, Italy
Feb 14-24, 2009
Masks are the mainstay and foundation of Carnival of Venice, whose long storied (and sordid) past dates back to 1268. Indeed, this is your chance to wander around Venice in fancy finery sporting a mysterious (and kinda freaky) Venetian mask like the ones we know from all those period films. Also, various palaces hold masked balls and galas where splendid period costumes, wigs and masks are the order of the night. For the week and a half before Fat Tuesday, a multitude of events focusing on the arts (including ballet, music, theater, and circus) take hold of famed St. Mark's Square. Thousands of revelers get the chance to experience the beautiful life of Venetians of 300 years ago. This is truly a spectacular event. For more details go to www.carnivalofvenice.com.
Nice, France
Feb 13 - March 1, 2009
When it comes to Carnival, Nice is France's Rio de Janeiro. More than a million visitors are drawn to the usually low-key French Riviera town, which becomes party central for two weeks. Highlights include phenomenal flower parades, samba troupes, clowns, wacky stilt-walkers, jugglers, street performers, traditional floats, and lots of merriment. Still, the magnifique event, dating back to the Middle Ages, is one that's quite manageable and even family-friendly (How many Mardi Gras events can you purchase tickets for well in advance?). Live bands, theater performances and DJs can be found playing all over town until the wee hours. Place Masséna and the rues surrounding the waterfront are where most of the action takes place, including the awesome presentation of the ginormous King and Queen Carnival effigies. The grand finale takes on a more serious mien, when the towering King-puppet effigy is set afire. Then, fireworks burst, and the party is finis. For more details go to www.nicecarnaval.com/carnaval4.html.
Trinidad and Tobago
Feb 23-24, 2009
All of the Caribbean loves Carnival. But Trindad and Tobago's monthlong event--culminating in large-scale celebrations in Port of Spain during the two days before Ash Wednesday--is the most famous. The islanders' rich cultural heritage makes for a colorful explosion for all the senses, including calypso, soca, and steel pan music, limbo dancing, delicious arts and cuisine. Carnival Tuesday is the heart of the event, when Carnival 'bands' in elaborate costumes/body paint/masks and other adornments hit the street (followed by thousands of ardent revelers). An eventual crowning of the best bands will take place on the Queen's Park Savannah. After that? More partying. Typically, Ash Wednesday is a beach (party) day, with most visitors chilling on Maracas and Manzanilla beaches. For details go to www.visittnt.com.
Quebec City, Canada
Jan 30 - Feb 15, 2009
It's the biggest winter carnaval on the planet, welcoming a million visitors every year. Plus, Quebec City Winter Carnaval has the most adorable (and iciest) ambassador/mascot - a snowman named Bonhomme Carnaval. Even though the focus of the event has changed in the century or so since its inception, F-U-N has been a constant. Nowadays, cultural events and participatory sports reign supreme, thrilling people of all ages. A giant ice palace in the Place Jacques-Cartier is HQ for all the activities, including the much-anticipated and duly impressive International Ice Sculpture Competition, a canoe race across the St. Lawrence, dog-sledding. 'snow baths,' concerts and night parades. For details go to www.carnaval.qc.ca.
For tips on how to get the most out of your visit to the Land Down Under read our Suggested Itineraries in Sydney.
For tips on how to get the most out of all things gastronomic, syncopated and laid-back read our Suggested Itineraries in New Orleans.
