Trinidad Carnival 2026 Dates
Mon 16 - Tue 17 Feb 2026
2026 at a glance
- Carnival Friday
- Panorama Saturday
- Dimanche Gras
- J'ouvert (Monday, pre-dawn)
- Carnival Monday
- Carnival Tuesday
- Ash Wednesday
- Easter Sunday
Carnival week 2026, day by day
These are the traditions each day is known for. Exact times and venues are set by the organisers each year, so confirm them with your band or the event before you plan around them.
Friday
Canboulay re-enactment
Traditionally staged before dawn at Piccadilly Greens in east Port of Spain, retelling the 1881 Canboulay Riots with flambeau bearers, drummers and stickfighters.
The story of CanboulaySaturday
Panorama finals
The large band final of the national steelband competition is traditionally held on this night at the Queen's Park Savannah.
Sunday
Dimanche Gras
The Sunday-night show where the National Calypso Monarch and the King and Queen of Carnival are traditionally crowned.
Monday
J'ouvert, then Monday mas
Carnival opens in the dark with mud, paint and old mas, traditionally from around 4:00 AM AST. After a wash and a rest, bands take to the streets again in Monday wear.
J'ouvert explainedTuesday
Parade of the Bands
The full-costume day. Bands cross the judging points from morning into the evening, and the song played most often at those points becomes the Road March.
Wednesday
Ash Wednesday
Lent begins and the costumes go back in the bag until next year.
How 2026 sits in the calendar
Easter Sunday 2026 is on Sunday 5 April. That puts Carnival around the middle of its possible window, early February to early March. That is 15 days earlier in the year than Carnival 2025, which was on Mon 3 Mar and Tue 4 Mar 2025.
From Boxing Day 2025 to J'ouvert morning there are 52 days of fete season. Lent then begins on Ash Wednesday, Wednesday 18 February.
What happened at Carnival 2026
We have 11 events on record for Carnival 2026, from fetes to the Parade of the Bands, with results where they are confirmed.
Carnival 2026 archive