Provincetown Carnival 2024: Expect a lot of Madonna, Beyonce, Marie Antoinette costumes

Carnival Week , the annual summer festival celebration in Provincetown that attracts tens of thousands of people to the tip of Cape Cod , is Aug. 17-24.

“ Carnival began in 1978 as a way of welcoming more LGBTQ people to Cape Cod,” said Trevor Pittinger, executive director of the Provincetown Business Guild , which started the parade . “But now it is one of the most diverse-looking groups in terms of age or straight vs. gay … This event is and will always be for everyone.”

The hugely popular Carnival Parade kicks off, rain or shine, from Harbor Hotel at 698 Commercial Street at 3 p.m. Aug. 22 and usually lasts for 90 minutes. There's a theme every year that guides that creation of the floats, costumes and more. Past themes have included Land of Toys, Candyland, Mardi Gras by the Sea and Back to the '80s.

Here's what we know about the theme this year.

Provincetown Carnival 2024 guide: Parade theme, times to parties, parking, and how to get there

What is the theme for Provincetown Carnival?

Renaissance + Revolution.

“I think something important to Carnival is that themes connect with the LGBTQ community and can be taken in many ways," said Pittinger.

Pittinger said he expects to see a lot of people honoring Revolution dressed as Madonna channeling Marie Antoinette circa her 1990 song “Vogue.” For Renaissance, Pittinger said, look for Beyonce look-alikes referencing her moment riding a disco ball horse on her most recent Renaissance album.

“There are no limitations on how you can present yourself. You can have fun by dressing up any way you want to. People plan costumes for a year,” he said.

Parade organizers are also expecting some folks observing the 50th anniversary of the Carnation Revolution which deposed Portugal’s dictatorship in one night in 1974 and, word on the street has it, there will be at least one group of folks with a “British are Coming theme.”

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Provincetown Carnival 2024: Expect a lot of Madonna, Beyonce, Marie Antoinette costumes