It's Carnival Time!

Out for a leisurely stroll today with Toddler Bostonist, we couldn't help but notice an unusual preponderance around town of cars bedecked in the flags and colors of various Carribbean nations. We saw two Haitis, one Jamaica, one Panama, and one Trinidad and Tobago, all highly polished and looking ready for a party. For a while, we kept asking ourselves, what's up with these cars? Then we walked by City Hall Plaza, where a steel drum band was playing, and we remembered: tomorrow is Boston's Carnival (be warned: this site has a guy with a Trinidad accent welcoming you to the site).

Tomorrow from noon to 6:00 p.m., Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard and Franklin Park in Roxbury will be awash in dancing, music, and general Carribean merriment, accompanied by much good food. And if that doesn't fit with your schedule (or if you need more soca, reggae, etc.), Cambridge has its own Carnival on Sunday at 12:30 along Main Street from Mass. Ave. to Vassar Street. Why are east coast carnivals held at the end of summer and not the beginning of Lent? Bostonist doesn't know for sure, but we'd guess it has to do with the fact that it's too damn cold in February for the kind of prolonged outdoor booty-shaking that Carnival requires. But really, who cares? Go, dance, paint your face in the colors of your native Carribean country (if you have one), and eat some roti, preferably with curried goat, because roti is good.

Photo courtesy of flickr.com / user Alex de Carvalho