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The Trinidad and Tobago Carnival is celebrated the week before Ash Wednesday.

Carnival in Trinidad and Tobago is the event of the year. It is said that if the islanders are not celebrating it then they are preparing for it while reminiscing about the past year's festival. The heart of the musical celebration is the calypso. Recently, Soca has replaced Calypso as the a mainstream type of music.

Carnival in Trinidad and Tobago originally had its roots in West African festivals, facilitated by conservative French aristocracy's carnival celebrations where masks were donned and social visits ensued. While Western traditions had been opressed - the use of drums and religious practices had been outlawed, the slaves, and then former slaves found novel ways to pass on their heritage. Carnival then grew with African influences from the slaves who added singing, dancing, and music as well as exuberance to Carnival to transform it into what we see today. Carnival is celebrated the week before Ash Wednesday in the season of Lent. In the earliest times similar celebrations were held at the end of crops being harvested (hence the Crop Over celebrations in some other islands). However, as these became more oppressed, the only permissible time was when the aristocracy was engaged in their own merriment and debauchery - the pre-lentern festival tied to the Roman Catholic idea of carne vale (farewell to the flesh).

Musical competitions make up a large part of Carnival and to win a competition is highly coveted. For example, to be named Calypso Monarch is one of the island's greatest honors, and the competition is aired on television. Along with the honor comes an enormous trophy, a car, TT $500,000 (approx. US $78,600) and possible endorsements and other contracts. Other prestigious titles are Soca Monarch, Road March and Panorama Champions - for which the 2007 prize is TT $1. million (US $157,230.). The instruments used are the drums, claves, and the steelpan, which is a drum that has been hammered down in different areas which create different notes. A group of performers practice weeks in advance on these drums in order to compete and hopefully bring home the top honor. Trinidad and Tobago is very multicultural (African, Asian (south and east), European) and all these groups have combined their musical influences to that of Carnival. Spanish influences are also reflected by the immigrants from Venezuela. These cultures and contributions render a sound vastly different from Carnival in Spain, Venice, or even in New Orleans, where Mardi Gras is celebrated.

As with other Carnivals, many participants wear elaborate costumes, often decorated with feathers and sequins. Carnival "bands" are organized groups made up of participants who pay for costumes fashioned by a designer and assembled by teams of volunteers. The costumed participants dance through the streets to the sounds of a steel band, a soca band or a d.j. - this is called "playing mas'". A unique feature of this parade is that locals and tourists alike participate in the parade of bands. Each band is led by a King and Queen, which are extremely large costumes, often requiring extensions and wheels to assist the masquerader to carry it through the streets. A competition is held every year on Dimanche Gras (Carnival Sunday) to award the King and Queen of Carnival title to two of these masqueraders. On the following days, Carnival Monday and Tuesday, the bands themselves are in competition to win the Band of the Year title. Small monetary prizes are associated with these titles, though they do not cover the full amount of production of the band or the King or Queen. Participation occurs at all levels of society - as said by 3 time calypso monarch David Rudder "from bourgeois to grassroots". Children participate from as early as parents can get them into costume, sometime even strollers are decorated. Children can extend their fun by participating in smaller "Kiddies Carnival" shows, competitions and parades as early as 4 weeks before the culmination of the festival and for many weeks ahead several preliminary rounds of competitions, parties or fetes as they're known, take place. Carnival is a part of the national curriculum and several programs take place at schools across the country. Regional authorities handle smaller carnival celebrations in smaller towns and villages. Whether you're into the revellry, wearing a costume and dancing in the streets, partying non-stop, photography, appreciating amazing arrangements of the season's calypsos for steelpan, or simply want to enjoy the family reunion type celebration, carnival has something for everyone.

Band leaders and designers begin working on their presentations months in advance and usually hold a launch party 3-5 months before Carnival to showcase their costumes. Costumes are available for purchase at the mas camp, and some camps offer costumes for sale online as well.

Some popular Carnival bands include:

• Poison (disbanded into several bands including the all-inclusive Pulse 8 and Dream Team)
• Legends (disbanded into 2 separate bands: Legacy and Genesis)
• TRIBE
• Harts'
• Masquerade
• Peter Minshall's Callaloo Company
• Island People
• Trini Revellers

Carnival, Port of Spain, early 1950s

A few specific characters have evolved during the history of Trinidad and Tobago's Carnival. Among these characters are:

Pierrot Grenade - he gives speeches on issues of the day, all in rhyme
Minstrels - black musicians acting as wandering minstrels, wearing white facepaint
Midnight Robber - his grandiose bragging is known as "robber talk," a style which evolved from African Griot storytellers
Jab Jab - a devilish character with horns and a pitchfork
Dame Lorraine - an amply blessed woman dressed as an 18th century French aristocrat

• A history of the Carnival in Trinidad
• Play Carnival - a carnival gallery site
• Trinidad Carnival Photos
• The Official Carnival Blog- Written by a woman who calls herself Saucy Trini this blog has the most up to date information on all things Trinidad and Tobago Carnival
• National Carnival Commission website
• A Trinidad and Tobago tourist site - This site has everything you need to know about Trinidad & Tobago as well as TnT Carnival.
• Harts' carnival band