_{Belize Carnival 2022}

By Charles Gladden

BELIZE CITY, Wed. Aug. 6, 2025

This year will mark 50 years since the Carnival Road March and Mas camps have been taking place in Belize.

The event has become one of Belize’s most anticipated events of the year, and has been recognized throughout the country as a staple of the September celebrations for some generations.

In previous years before Carnival was started in Belize, the big celebration was the Tenth; but as the drive in the 1960s towards independence gained momentum, government officials downplayed the Battle of St. George’s Caye as the glorification of the slave-master Baymen, and so a PUP National Day parade was started in competition with the NIP Tenth of September St. George’s Caye Day parade – both of them being on the 10th September. Over the years, the political divisions caused both parades to diminish, as some citizens were wary of appearing to take sides. But Belizeans, especially the youth, still had the celebration fever when September rolled around, and it was into that vacuum that a unifying spectacle, Carnival, a long-time fixture in the rest of the Caribbean, finally made its entrance into Belize.

Belize’s version of Carnival is a combination of Maya, African, and European influences – a national celebration that fills the main road arteries with street theatre, music, dance, and colorful costumes.

Decades ago, in the early years of the Carnival, the costumes were created from local materials within the neighborhood, and it was done for the children’s enjoyment, not for monetary gain or prizes.

Through the years, the other districts within the country have added a twist to the celebration to reflect their local audiences.

Rain or shine, the annual event will take place; the only period during which it wasn’t held was during the COVID-19 pandemic, when there was a 2-year hiatus. 

“50 years! We have to celebrate it in a big way,” said Hon. Francis Fonseca, Chairman of the National Celebrations Commission, in an interview in mid-June with local reporters. 

There will be two major events leading up to the big day, the first being a 50th anniversary Masquerade Gala, Awards, Banquet & Dance Night, which will honor 50 individuals and businesses who have contributed to the Carnival, and the other being the release of a 50th anniversary magazine celebrating all things Carnival in Belize. The release date for that publication has not yet been announced.

“50 Years of Mas and Celebration” is the theme for those events.