Events
St. Maarten Carnival 2025: 'Come, Experience Life!' ran from Easter Monday to 5 May
The 54th St. Maarten Carnival in 2025 ran under the theme 'Come, Experience Life!', with Carnival Village open from Easter Monday 21 April to 5 May 2025.
By SXM Daily ยท
Reported March 2025.
The St. Maarten Carnival Development Foundation (SCDF) set the 2025 Carnival under the theme "Come, Experience Life!", with two weeks of festivities from 21 April to 5 May 2025, according to the SCDF schedule as published by Soualiga Newsday.
Photo: Ymnes / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, illustrative
A late Easter
Because Lent and Easter fell late in 2025, the SCDF opened Carnival on Easter Monday, 21 April. From then the Jocelyn Arndell Festival Village, known as Carnival Village, was open for 14 days. Ten Road to Carnival events came before it, starting in March. SCDF President Edwardo Radjouki said 2025 was the 54th edition.
He explained that Easter cut the schedule by a weekend, so some events were combined in the village and others held earlier or in smaller venues to keep the season financially viable.
What was on
The SCDF listed four jump-ups (Causeway, Opening, J'ouvert Morning and Closing), six international nights including Bacchanal Sunday and Caribbean Flag Fest, and eight local themed events. The Junior and Grand Carnival Parades were combined over two days, 30 April and 1 May, with the juniors first. The St. Maarten Carnival Caribbean Queen Pageant, first held in 2024, returned.
For how Carnival on the Dutch side works and the 2026 season, see our guide to St. Maarten Carnival.
Sources
- https://www.soualiganewsday.com/index.php?Itemid=518&id=58663%3Acome%2C-experience-life-scdf-unveils-2025-carnival-schedule-promises-25-days-of-culture%2C-food%2C-music&option=com_k2&view=item
- https://www.sxm-carnival.com/