Montserrat Carnival

From mid-December to the New Year, Montserrat's take on traditional Caribbean festivities is available. It's a homecoming for several former residents who fled the island after the Soufrière Hills Volcano erupted, who have returned to enjoy Christmas and Carnival. The annual Montserrat Carnival is a multi-day event that celebrates the island's music, pageantry, heritage, and culture. It is one of the Caribbean's most anticipated end-of-year carnivals, attracting thousands of visitors during the Christmas season.

During the year-end festival, Montserrat erupts with an explosion of color, music, revelry, and creativity from mid-December to New Year's Day. Visitors to Montserrat gain a true understanding of the island's culture and the excitement and revelry that Montserratians express at this time of year. Cultural activities for visitors and residents include calypso competitions, masquerade street performances, the festival Queen Competition, and a parade of costumed troupes on New Year's Day. There are J'ouverts where everyone can jump up behind a sound system, with locals sometimes spraying water and/or powder over the crowd in the spirit of revelry.

Takes place: from mid-December to the New Year's Day