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J'ouvert, Carnival 2026

Tobago Carnival 2026: Dutty J'ouvert

Sat, 31 Oct 2026 (times TBC)

Streets of Scarborough, Scarborough, Tobago

Tickets are not on sale yet. Check Tobago Festivals Commission, with J'ouvert bands’s official pages for the release date, and only buy from the official seller.

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Close-up of a smiling J'ouvert reveller in Trinidad on J'ouvert morning 2015, his face, beard and hair splattered with blue and white paint, wearing a paint-covered T-shirt

Image credit: Idobi, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

What it is

As dawn breaks on Carnival Saturday, 31 October 2026, thousands of locals and visitors gather in Scarborough to be anointed with mud, paint and powder at Dutty J'ouvert.1 Mud mas is the signature of Tobago Carnival: the tradition traces back to Bagatelle, in the hills above Scarborough, and the mud and clay are often mixed with colour as well as worn in their natural browns and greys.1

J'ouvert is one of the festival's street parades, alongside Night Mas and the Parade of the Bands, and all of them are centred on Scarborough.2 It used to be more of a Crown Point affair: Fog Angels, the island's best-known band, moved its J'ouvert from Crown Point to Scarborough as the crowds outgrew the space.3

Tips

  • Register with a J'ouvert band for a truck, drinks, security and a crew to stay with in the dark.
  • Wear old clothes and shoes you can bin, and put your phone in a waterproof pouch.
  • Several day parties follow J'ouvert on Saturday, including Sand Jam at Pigeon Point Heritage Park, so pack a change of clothes.4
  • Start times and assembly points vary by band and are confirmed close to the date.

Sources

  1. Caribbean Beat: All grown up, Issue 196, September/October 2026 (opens in a new tab) ↩ ↩2

  2. Tobago Carnival: Frequently Asked Questions (opens in a new tab) ↩

  3. Trinidad Guardian: How Fog Angels became Tobago Carnival royalty (opens in a new tab) ↩

  4. Tobago Carnival: Calendar of Events (opens in a new tab) ↩

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Sources

  1. Caribbean Beat: All grown up (Issue 196, Sep/Oct 2026)
  2. Tobago Carnival: Frequently Asked Questions
  3. Trinidad Guardian: How Fog Angels became Tobago Carnival royalty (17 Jul 2026)
  4. Tobago Carnival: Calendar of Events

Last verified 3 October 2026. Spotted something wrong? Send a correction.

Part of the Carnival 2026 archive.