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EveryParampara

Next: 1 to 31 Dec 2026

Calabar Carnival

Africa's biggest street party: a month of bands, floats and costumes in Calabar every December.

Calabar Carnival: This is an image from
Photo: Raji kunle, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

When is Calabar Carnival in 2026?

Calabar Carnival 2026 runs from 1 to 31 December 2026. Other years: 2027, 1 to 31 December 2027; 2028, 1 to 31 December 2028.

About Calabar Carnival

The Calabar Carnival is held through December in the city of Calabar in southern Nigeria, and was begun in 2004 as a tourism event. It is often called Africa's Carnival. Several competing bands, such as Passion 4, Seagull, Masta Blasta, Freedom and Bayside, each give themselves a theme and parade in elaborate feathered and sequined costumes, with floats and dancers, on the main days. There are also a street party, a cultural display, a car parade, and a food fair, with performances of traditional Efik and Ejagham music and dance. Local people, including the Efik, join in, along with visitors from other parts of Nigeria and abroad. The festival attracts many people and boosts local trade.

Calabar Carnival dates: 2026, 2027, 2028

YearCalabar Carnival date
20261 to 31 December 2026
20271 to 31 December 2027
20281 to 31 December 2028

What is eaten

  • edikang ikong
  • afang soup
  • pepper soup

Traditions of Calabar Carnival

CarnivalThe wider tradition.

Also part of it, and being written: Efik people (The people of Calabar.), Calabar (The host city.).

About this page

Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Background: "Calabar Carnival" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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