February dates for your diary

Mardi Gras in New Orleans or Fat Tuesday is on 17th February in New Orleans. Carnival commences on 6th January but public festivities start properly on the third weekend before Fat Tuesday. The “big party” itself kicks off on the Friday night prior to Fat Tuesday and continues through sundown on Fat Tuesday. The partying finally comes to an end at midnight between Fat Tuesday and Ash Wednesday, which is the beginning of Lent.  6th-17th February.

Chinese Spring Festival, also known as Lunar New Year, is an important time for families to get together and celebrate with rich and colourful activities.  2015 is the year of the sheep and this year the festival falls between Feb 19-25 2015.

Rio’s Carnival is a world famous fusion of music and dance where over 500,000 visitors descend annually onto the streets.

Everyone should experience the Samba Parade in Rio de Janeiro at least once. Carnival is celebrated throughout Brazil, but Rio is the Carnival capital of the world, bringing the biggest and the best to the streets of Rio.

Samba is a uniquely Brazilian blend of music that originates from Rio. Samba literally meant different things to the African slaves brought to Brazil between the 17th and 19th centuries; either to pray or invoke the spirits of the ancestors and the gods of the African Pantheon. It also refers to a cry, or something like “the blues”. Enjoy the elaborate costumes and join in with the dancing with some hip-shaking of your own, as samba and frevo blast through the streets of Rio.  13-17 February 2015.