Carnival season kicks off in the south on Sunday

Carnival officially starts in the south on Sunday. All cities, villages, and hamlets in Brabant have a different name during carnival, such as Oeteldonk (Den Bosch), Lampegat (Eindhoven), Kruikenstad (Tilburg) and Kielegat (Breda). Around 275 “Carnival names”' are known in the province, but there are probably more. In Limburg, the cities and villages are not renamed, but the place names are pronounced in Limburgish.

Het is vandaag (10 februari) erg druk in Kruikenstad. Ons advies is dan ook: kom morgen carnavallen. Pik je meteen D'n Opstoet mee. Lees meer: https://t.co/stx42r8ZMN #carnaval #kruikenstad #groenoranje pic.twitter.com/6eCKhaU2Ke

— gemeentetilburg (@gemeentetilburg) February 10, 2024

Geweldig #Kruikenconcert en gisteren de enige echte #Kruikenstad 'vrijmibo' met CV De Geminte, dit keer in het stadhuisstraatje. #Carnaval 2024 is los. Morgen dwars door onze stad en dorpen met @kruikenstadnl 💚🧡 🥳🎋🎉 pic.twitter.com/E57O83gKqP

— Bas van der Pol (@basvanderpol) February 10, 2024

The rain can still throw a spanner in the works here and there. In Moergestel, for example, the carnival festival was canceled due to the heavy rainfall in recent days. According to the organizers of "Europe's biggest hardstyle carnival festival" could not guarantee the safety of the venue in Noord-Brabant because of all the water.

Karnaval Festival in Moergestel afgelast vanwege regenval: ‘Op sommige plekken sta je tot je knieën in het water’ https://t.co/L4oNNOWyWx pic.twitter.com/KSuu0GP8ns

— BN DeStem (@BNDeStem) February 9, 2024

Most of the parades will take place on Sunday and Monday. Incidentally, there is a restriction for many revelers in both provinces. As of this year, no more than 20 people are allowed to ride on the carnival floats during the parades. Otherwise, the largest insurance company for such floats refuses to pay compensation if something goes wrong. It is up to the parade organizers to check that everyone is adhering to the new rules and that the driver of the tractor or car in front of the float is sober.

There were already big parades in Eindhoven (Lampegat) and Roosendaal (Tullepetaonestad) on Saturday. The youth parade also took place in Maastricht, one day before the big parade on Sunday.