When is Carnival in St. Maarten?
The officialย dates for the 2023 St. Maarten Carnival dates have not been confirmed yet. The St. Maarten Carnival is officially the longest carnival or festival in the entire region with its celebrations spanning around 18 days.
Where is the St. Maarten Carnival?
St. Maarten/St. Martinย is a tiny island located in the Caribbean. It is actually the smallest island in the world that is shared by two nations, France and the Kingdom of the Netherlands. This gives the island its unique European-influenced, Caribbeanย vibe.
The capital city is Philipsburgย which is where most of the carnival activities will occur at the custom built carnival villageย called the St. Maarten Carnival Villageย which is the epicentre for everything that occurs during carnival.
What is Carnival in St. Maarten?
Carnival in St. Maartenย is like mixing New Yearโs revelry, costumed paradesย and lots of loud calypso, socaย and steelpan bandย music together. While Trinidad Carnivalโsย is the largest and most popular in the region, St. Maarten Carnivalย has the longest carnival seasonย and has been growing in popularity year after year.
St. Maarten Carnivalย is all about bringing together people from all different backgrounds and cultures. Carnival in St. Maartenย is like a West Indiesย block party, where no matter your age, race or background everyone mixes together and has the time of their life.
Carnival in St. Maartenย is the ultimate celebration of life. It spreads joy across the island and is all about showcasing and enjoying the local culture, food, music and pageantry. St. Maarten Carnivalย is the biggest event of the year and one of the islandโs main largest attractions!
How do they celebrate carnival in St. Maarten?
For two months the locals unite and hit the streets dressed in costumes, singing, dancing, making music and enjoying life! St. Maarten Carnivalย is all about celebrating the local culture and heritage. It reflects the many influences and colorful identity of the island.
Every day the island hostโs an exciting event to embrace and celebrate St. Maartenโs rich history and culture. Carnivalย is celebrated with parades, concerts, calypso competitions, steelpan bands, reggae bands, feathers, dancing, lots of feasting and drinking, partying, costumes, pageants and more.
Carnival Village
St. Maartenโs Carnival Villageย is like nothing else in the Caribbean, or the world for that matter. It is the worldโs first purposely-built carnival venue, the St. Maartenโs Carnival Village. The Carnival Village makes St. Maartenโs Carnivalย one of the most unique Caribbean Carnivals.
It is essentially a giant rectangular shaped enclosure that is sort of reminiscent of an old country fair but with an unmistakable Caribbean vibe. There are around 80 booths which transform into shops, bars and eateries. Selling toys, arts, craft, clothes, and of course local delicacies like Johnny cakes or BBQ meats.
The Carnival Villageย also features a permanent state-of-the-art concert stage where major local and international concerts put on shows. This ย year the three major international headliners will be Ashanti, Keyshia Coleย andย Ja Rule. They will be joined by local artists Kenyo Baly and Natisha Hanson.
What is the history of Carnival in St. Maarten?
The first ever St. Maarten Carnivalย took place in 1970โs on St. Maartenโs Dayย which is the 11thย November. It initially started out as an initiative by the Oranje Committee to celebrate the island and to attract tourism.
Two committee members were sent to St. Thomas Carnival, with the intention of recreating a similar celebration in St. Maarten. The first carnival was funded by local businesses who donated to the festivities with bands, troupes, food, drinks and even free electricity all provided to the first celebration.
The French part of the island started to host their own St Maartenโs Dayย celebrations which stole a bit of the carnivalโs thunder. So the celebrations were moved to the Queenโs birthday, April 30th, to host the Grand Carnival Parade. More celebrations and festivities started to take place around the parade, to keep the good times rolling and the carnival continued to grow.
St. Maarten Carnivalย is absolutely jam packed with everything a carnival-lover could possibly want. There will be three incredible and colorful masquerade parades, six massive concerts with major international stars and the biggest Jโouvertย in the Caribbean!
St. Maarten Grand Carnival Parade & J’Ouvert
You have to have a lot of stamina if you were to bear through an entire 33 days of carnival celebrations. Most visitors will concentrate on attending the more important events. The two most popular events at this carnival are the Grand Carnival Parade and the break of dawn paradeย known as Jโouvertย which begins at 4am in downtown Philipsburg.
The biggest event is the Grand Carnival Paradeย which always takes place on April 30th where thousands of spectators come out to see the incredible display of colorful costumes, floats,ย steelpan bands, dancers, singers, musicians, local cuisine and drinks. Theย paradeย winds its way from the Carnival Villageย through the downtown area.
Days after the parade, the carnival will close with the burning of King MouMou, a straw stuffed effigy who presided over the carnival celebrations. This marks the end ofย carnivalย and the island of St. Maarten then returns to its normal tranquil self until the next year’s carnival!
Where to stay in St. Maarten for Carnival?
St. Maarten’s Carnivalย is actually a great one to attend because its celebrations occur at the end of April which is right after the hotel rates in the region drop from around 30-50% from the winter season highs.
Not only are the hotels much cheaper during St. Maartenโs carnival, the weather is still picture postcard clear because its well before the rainy season starts. You have plenty of accommodation options from luxury resorts and hotels, guest houses, rentals, there is something to fit every budget.
Check out booking.com for some great accommodation deals here.
St. Maarten Carnival Tips
Itโs good to note that carnival activities and events run on โCaribbean timeโ so things may start late and run overtime, and no one seems to mind much, so just take note and learn to go with the flow. Visitors donโt need to wear a costume, all you need is to turn up and be ready to have a good time!
The Grand Paradeย runs for around 3 hours and the sun can be quite strong so wear adequate sun protection. Many hotels actually supply large shade tents along key sections of the paradeย routes for their guests, so ask if your hotel does that.
How to get to and around St. Maarten?
There are two airports in St. Maartenย the main one is St. Maarten’s Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) and the smaller one is L’Espรฉrance Airport located on the French side ofย St. Martin. There is transport around the island but shuttle services that will take you around. You can also rent a car which makes it easier.