Culminating with the Emancipation Day parade on the morning of August 1, one of the most popular highlights of the period, some 20,000 participants flood the streets of Port of Spain with thousands on the sidewalks, creating a spectacle of colour dominated by African motifs, textiles and designs.

This spectacular Hindu festival during which clay oil lamps are lit to symbolize the lifting of spiritual darkness and is a celebration of good over evil and light over darkness, is a favourite among locals that transcends religion, heritage and ethnicity.