Overview:
Haiti Carnival 2026 opened Sunday with lively parades nationwide, featuring street bands, vibrant costumes, papier-mâché masks and thousands of revelers celebrating the start of the festivities. The traditional celebrations begin across multiple cities, including Port-au-Prince, Cap-Haïtien, Port-de-Paix, Gonaïves and Jacmel, among others.
Haiti’s streets came alive Sunday as the first major parades of Carnival 2026 unfolded across Cap-Haïtien, Jacmel, Fort-Liberté and other major cities.
Bands pounded out rhythms that pulsed through the crowds, dancers moved in sync with brass and percussion, and brightly colored costumes filled the streets with energy. Families and friends lined parade routes, cheering and celebrating each performance.
From Cap-Haïtien’s historic boulevards to Jacmel’s seaside avenues, the air rang with drums, chachas and cowbells. Artisans showcased striking papier-mâché masks — bold, hand-shaped faces painted in vivid colors — while dancers in traditional and contemporary costumes performed to the steady beat of marching bands.
In Fort-Liberté, parade groups advanced through the town center as residents cheered and recorded the festivities on their phones. In Gonaïves, the opening day carried the familiar sounds of percussion, whistles and applause that signal the start of Carnival season.
In Port-de-Paix, marching bands including Polo Band, Roulo Band, Papayo Band and LouLou Band filled the streets as thousands gathered downtown. Despite organizational challenges and a citywide blackout that left parts of the route in darkness, revelers continued dancing and following the bands through the main corridors.
In Jacmel, carnivalgoers have gathered every weekend since Jan. 18. The festivities peaked Sunday as DJs, dance companies, artists and models paraded through the main streets of the tourist city.
Across the north, northwest and south, the first day of Carnival 2026 highlighted both the craftsmanship of costume makers and the deep local attachment to this annual cultural tradition.
A man and a woman dressed in black and purple costumes — colors often associated with the Voudou spirit — take part in the carnival parade in Cap-Haïtien on Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. Photo by Onz Chéry/The Haitian Times.
Drummers electrifying the streets of Cap-Haïtien on Dimanche Gras, the first day of carnival, on Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. Photo by Onz Chéry/ The Haitian Times
Men in suits wearing gigantic masks lined up along a road during the opening day of carnival in Cap-Haïtien on Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. Photo by Onz Chéry/ The Haitian Times
A rara band’s musicians walking along the parade route during the first day of carnival in Cap-Haïtien on Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. Photo by Onz Chéry/ The Haitian Times.
In Cap-Haïtien, a girl adorned with a black, red, and white dress holding an umbrella in Cap-Haïtien. Photo by Onz Chéry/ The Haitian Times
In Jacmel, dancers electrify the streets on Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. Photo courtesy of DigitalX.
Participants pose with Carnival Queens and Kings in Jacmel on Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. Photo courtesy of Jacmel City Hall.
Mask parade in Jacmel on Sunday, February 15, 2026. Photo credit: DigitalX
Participants follow a masquerade parading the streets of Jacmel on Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. Photo courtesy of DigitalX.
Crowd of carnival participants, including parents, accompany their young children as they watch a masquerade imitation of the Catholic Church Pope in Jacmel on Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. Photo courtesy of DigitalX.
In Fort-Liberte, two boys dressed in white costumes with red paint marks, imitating a folkloric “zonbi” character Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. Photo by Edxon Francisque/Haitian Times
In Port-de-Paix, a young man posing as a law-enforcement officer on Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. Security remains a main theme of the 2026 Carnival season. Photo by Kervenson Martial/The Haitian Times.
In Gonaïves, a reveler enjoys the beats of a street ‘rara’ band during the carnival festivities on Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. Photo by Ones Joseph for The Haitian Times
Onz Chéry, Edxon Francisque, Onès Joseph, and Kervenson Martial contributed to the story
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