One of the most exuberant celebrations in the world is fast approaching, as the Caribbean island of St Lucia gears up for its annual carnival.
Due to take place on July 16th and 17th, the event sees that streets of the island's capital, Castries, transformed into a lively party.
Locals dressed in colourful costumes descend on the city and show off their latest soca and calypso dances.
The highlight of the event is a massive calypso competition where people pit their lyrical and musical abilities against each other in a bid to win the Calypso Monarch title.
Elsewhere, the event features a beauty queen competition, a steel band competition and a king and queen of the band competition.
What's more, this year, the festivities have escaped the confines of the island and hit New York.
As a result of a collaboration between the St Lucia Tourist Board and some St Lucians living in the Big Apple, a series of parallel events took place earlier this month as a warm up.
"The event served the dual purpose of promoting Carnival in St. Lucia which culminates in the streets of Castries," explained Lorine Charles-St. Jules, of the St Lucia Tourist Board.
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