Miami Carnival: Splashy paint parties, parades and masquerades ring in Caribbean celebrations across South Flo

Of the 45,000 dancers and musicians expected during Carnival season’s main event, one-third are from out of town and many arrive from Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, says the Greater Miami Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. The carnival will take place 9 a.m.-midnight on Sunday, Oct. 13, at the Miami-Dade County Fairgrounds (10901 SW 24th St., Miami) with plenty of thoughtful pageantry. That includes 15,000 masqueraders (think feathered dresses, rhinestone-studded headdresses) in the Miami Carnival Parade of Bands, food and arts and crafts vendors, a 3 p.m. calypso concert, a Kings and Queens costume competition and acts representing Grenada, Jamaica, Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago. Tickets cost $30.