When: From February 11 through February 14, 2018
Part of the Lesser Antilles, this French Caribbean island carries on its Carnival all the way into Ash Wednesday. While beginning in January, with parties and a Carnival queens parade happening every weekend, the full festivities start on Fat Sunday, or Dimanche Gras. On this day, Martinique is full of daytime parades, with marchers in costume and carrying fancy-dressed puppets known as bwa bwa. Monday is a day for "mock weddings" in which men and women trade places in wearing wedding attire. Then Tuesday gets a bit devilish; known as Red Devils Day, groupings of red-wearing figures dance about until sundown. Finishing up on Ash Wednesday, revelers wear black and white to mourn the end of this festive period.