Swept Up In The Revelry

St. Maarten is gearing up for its 45th Annual Carnival celebration, which takes place from April 21 to May 5, 2014. The annual event is the island’s largest cultural celebration and features parades, pageants, musical performances and a host of other activities culminating with the traditional “Burning of King Momo.” St. Maarten’s Carnival stands out among other regional celebrations due to the duration of this activity (two weeks) and the way locals embrace participating vacationers who get swept away in the revelry.

Edward Dest, interim director of tourism for the St. Maarten Tourist Bureau, said: “We look forward to welcoming visitors not just to the beautiful shores of St. Maarten but to participate in St. Maarten’s Carnival, essentially the North Eastern Caribbean’s longest food and musical festival.”

And visitors, Dest pointed out, will have a chance to “experience our local tasty cuisine, such as conch and dumpling, grilled lobster, fish soup, curry goat and stew oxtail to name a few. Mix it up with one of the local or international shows, take part in one of the parades and a have blast.”

For the record, St. Maarten is the only place in the world that has two Carnivals – the first in February on the French side of the island (St. Martin) which could be seen as a dress rehearsal of sorts for the bigger celebration that takes place in April on the Dutch side of the island.

For more, go to http://www.VacationStMaarten.com .