Carnival is in full bloom in the Dominican Republic with the playful costumed characters already having had their first Sunday of reveling on city streets. Carnival is big on Sundays in La Vega, Bonao, Santiago, and Greater Santo Domingo. There are smaller parades in Puerto Plata. Carnival in La Romana is on 22 February at La Marina de Casa de Campo and 23 February in La Romana City. Punta Cana’s carnival, organized by Grupo Punta Cana at the Punta Cana Village, is set for Saturday, 8 March. Two carnival parades are planned for Santo Domingo, one on Av. Espana for Santo Domingo East, and another on Maximo Gomez up through Jose Contreras avenue on Sundays. These events lead up to the country’s greatest parade, scheduled for Sunday, 2 March along the Malecon of Santo Domingo. The best carnival troupes from all over the country converge on the capital city for that grand carnival parade.