Vincy Mas videos, J'Ouvert and Mardi Gras
Vincy Mas is Saint Vincent and the Grenadines' carnival, building through calypso and soca shows to J'Ouvert and Mardi Gras on the streets of Kingstown.
Saint Vincent · Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Vincy Mas Carnival information
Verified public information about this carnival, organised by MasLife World TV. Last verified September 5, 2026.
What Vincy Mas Carnival is
Vincy Mas is the national carnival of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and it is one of the earliest big carnivals of the Caribbean summer — it runs from late June into the first week of July, centred on Kingstown. The festival is organised by the Carnival Development Corporation and builds through a long season of launches, calypso and soca competitions, pageants and cultural parades. The climax is a run of days most visitors travel for: Dimanche Gras, then J'ouvert in the pre-dawn hours of Carnival Monday, Monday Mas, and Mardi Gras on Carnival Tuesday, when the costumed bands parade through Kingstown. The 2026 edition, themed "The Great Escape", ran 26 June to 7 July. Because Vincy Mas comes before Lucian Carnival, Antigua and Spicemas, it often opens the summer circuit for masqueraders who travel to several carnivals a year, and its official calendar is published in full by the Carnival Development Corporation. For anyone searching "Vincy Mas dates", "St Vincent Carnival", "Vincy Mas J'ouvert" or "Mardi Gras Kingstown", this is that festival.
Source: vincymas.vcWhen it happens
Vincy Mas is a summer carnival — it was moved out of the pre-Lenten season in 1977. It runs from late June into the first week of July, with J'ouvert and Monday Mas on Carnival Monday and Mardi Gras on Carnival Tuesday. In 2026 the festival ran 26 June to 7 July. The next date has not been confirmed yet.
Source: vincymas.vcParade
Mardi Gras on Carnival Tuesday is the costumed parade that closes Vincy Mas, with bands crossing Kingstown in sections behind music trucks and passing judging points, following Monday Mas the day before. The official Vincy Mas calendar publishes the parade days and the full order of events for each season.
Source: vincymas.vcJ'ouvert / Jouvay
J'ouvert opens Carnival Monday in the pre-dawn hours, with paint and powder bands on the road in Kingstown before daylight, ahead of Monday Mas and Tuesday's Mardi Gras parade. Because start points and band packages change each season, the official Vincy Mas events calendar is the reliable source.
Source: vincymas.vcFêtes and festival week
The Vincy Mas season begins months before the parades, with the official launch, Rum and Riddim events, Miss SVG, Bacchanal Bay and Soca Monarch rounds, the We Spirit Cultural Parade, Calypso semi-finals, Fantastic Friday and Dimanche Gras, alongside promoter fetes and boat rides. The Carnival Development Corporation publishes the calendar of events for the full season.
Source: vincymas.vcCulture and history
Carnival in Saint Vincent was historically held before Lent, and was moved to the summer in 1977 so that it would not compete with Trinidad Carnival and could draw returning nationals and visitors in the July holiday period. That change is why Vincy Mas now falls at the end of June and start of July. The festival retains distinct Vincentian elements alongside soca and pretty mas: mas bands and steel pan, a strong calypso tradition with real competitive standing, and cultural parades that carry older masquerade forms. Its position at the front of the summer calendar has also given it a particular role in the region — many soca artists and mas travellers begin their season in Kingstown before moving on to Saint Lucia, Antigua and Grenada.
Source: vincymas.vcGetting there
Kingstown on the main island of Saint Vincent is the centre of the festival, reached through Argyle International Airport (SVD), which handles direct regional and some longer-haul flights. Many visitors combine carnival with time in the Grenadines, reached by ferry or short inter-island flights, and ferry schedules around the carnival days are worth checking in advance as they change for the holiday.
MasLife coverage
MasLife has not filmed Vincy Mas yet — the information above comes from verified public sources. If you filmed it, submit your video and it can be the first.
Questions
- Where is Vincy Mas Carnival held?
- Vincy Mas takes place in Saint Vincent, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
- How do I get my own Vincy Mas footage on MasLife World TV?
- Submit it at maslifeworldtv.com/submit. If it is your footage and it is from the road, we publish it with your credit.
