Carnival season 2024

The carnival season 2024 has begun in La Gomera and the island capital San Sebastian's festivities are already in full swing. The main parade will wind its way through the streets tomorrow, Sat. 10th of February 2024, followed as usual by dancing until sunrise, see poster above for the full carnival programme, which is themed 'The Jungle'.

The capital will barely have recovered from the jamboree when the celebrations begin again across the mountains in Valle Gran Rey where this year's theme is 'Hawaii' and the  main carnival parade takes place there on Saturday, February 24th 2024 from 5pm(-ish).

See VGR programme below:

Then carnival and all aficionados move to Playa de Santiago in the deep south of La Gomera where the fun begins on March 28th, themed 'Pirates of the South', see their poster below. 

Agulo and Hermigua in the north of the island will of course have their own distinct carnivals as well, but I don't have their programmes yet. Watch this space...

UPDATE: 

Nice poster (below) out now for the carnival in Vallehermoso (March 7th-9th):

Carnival in Hermigua 2018

Tonight and tomorrow March 3rd 2018 it's carnival time in Hermigua 

Carnival 2018 comes to Playa de Santiago

Playa de Santiago/Alajero will hold their carnival from tomorrow. The main theme there
will be 'Asia' and the parade will start at 18:30 pm on Friday March 2nd 2018.

Carnival 2018 Vallehermoso

Poster for the 2018 carnival in Vallehermoso where the main theme will be 'horror'.

Carnival 2018 snaps and short video

Thanks to HP for the video

Carnival 2018 in Valle Gran Rey

Above the programme for the carnival week in Valle Gran Rey which starts on Monday, February 12th 2018. This year the main theme is 'cinema'' and the carnival headquarters will be on the pier in Vueltas harbour where a marquee has already been erected. The main attractions are the parade which sets off from the town hall in La Calera on Friday Feb 16th at 5:30 pm and then passes through La Playa, La Puntilla, then back up through Borbalan to the harbour where late night dancing to salsa bands will follow from 11 pm. The following day the 'sardine procession' will start from La Playa and then follow the same route as the parade and once the sardine has been 'buried', all-night dancing will follow once again to end this year's carnival.

The Pope Said Goodbye To The Sardine

Each community in the Canary Islands ends the carnival festivities with the 'funeral of the sardine' when a large papier-mache sardine full of pyrotechnics  is burnt and pushed into the sea, accompanied by the wailing of 'grieving ladies', i.e. men dressed in women's clothes who 'cry their eyes out' as the sardine dies and carnival ends. This year Valle Gran Rey had an Egyptian sardine and even 'The Pope' attended its funeral last night.

Hot samba rhythms are always part of the carnival in the Canary Islands and each town has their own samba school. The one above came from La Palma island to attend the funeral and they were amazing.