Dunkirk Carnival – Les Trois Joyeuses

Dunkirk's carnival season runs for about three months, but its high point is the Trois Joyeuses: the Sunday, Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. Thousands of carnival-goers in costume march through the streets behind the fife-and-drum bands known as bandes. On Sunday the Dunkirk band ends at the town hall, where the mayor and guests throw wrapped smoked herrings down to the crowd, a custom dating from 1962; that evening the Bal des Acharnés is held at the Kursaal. Monday belongs to the Citadelle district and Mardi gras to Rosendaël. The tourist office asks visitors to respect the carnival's code of conduct, the Charte des Enfants de Jean Bart. The 2027 dates follow the tradition; the official programme is still to be confirmed.