3. Spicemas, Grenada
Spicemas is hot. Real hot, and not just because it’s held in the middle of summer. The good folks in Grenada moved their Carnival from the pre-Lenten period to mid-summer years ago to avoid competing with the much bigger annual bashment in Trinidad. Spicemas holds its own nicely, however, especially when you consider Grenada’s lopsided female-to-male population ratio. The women outnumber the men here 12-to-1, I’m told. Yeah, that’s hot. —Steve Bennett/Uncommon Caribbean