Street Carnivals

What to Do at Street Carnivals

Street carnivals are colourful and fun events with lots of music, dances, artistic performances and entertainment. It is easy to feel overwhelmed in the crowd most especially if you are attending the event alone and if you are not prepared. These 8 quick tips will guide you into having fun at a street carnival.

Calabar Carnival
Calabar, Nigeria

1. Arrive early 

You need to be at the start of the carnival. Late arrival will mean you losing out on some of the sights and sounds of the event. When you are early you can easily pick the vantage position to it, stand and watch the proceedings.

2. Keep your water bottle handy

This is very important for carnivals where you will have to walk around following the carnival floats or bands. It is easy to get dehydrated from all the stress and activities, keeping a bottle of water handy is ideal. 

3. Skip the heavy meal

You might be tempted to take a meal with lots of calories and carbohydrates before attending a street carnival. It is not a good idea. You don’t want to end up feeling clumsy or sleepy when you should be having fun. A light meal is adequate and you can always refill along the way.

4. Befriend the locals 

Make friends with the locals in the area, learn about their customs and culture. Imbibe their spirit and you will find that things will be easier for you. They could show you stuff and give you all the information you need to know in the course of the carnival. 

5. Join a band

What better way to have a full first-hand experience of a carnival than to join a band. If there’s space for you to be part of a carnival band or float, grab it with both hands and experience the thrills. 

6. Hold cash handy

You need to hold cash to buy certain items. They could be souvenirs, memorabilia, food, drinks, etc. Being short of cash in a boisterous place like a carnival can be very devastating.

7. Capture the moments 

Memories are best kept and documented in the forms of photos and videos. You will need a good digital camera or smartphone to take quality images that will aid in recollections. Take as many photos as possible, you can always remove the poor quality photos at a later date. Videos go a long way in relieving memories. Record videos.

You can share your photos and videos in real-time to your friends on social media platforms.

8. Be security conscious 

You have to be vigilant. Carnivals are crowd magnets as people from different places and backgrounds converge to have fun. In such crowds, there are possibilities of pickpockets and other criminal elements. Have a security phone number to call in case of emergencies. Stay safe.

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