Above: preparing for Carnival (MINUSTAH Photo/Jeffrey Clark Lochard)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

The city of Jacmel, Haiti celebrated its 2014 edition of carnival, an annual party that is among the Caribbean’s most famous fetes.

This year’s carnival was being held under the theme “Pote kole pou n’avanse,” or “together to advance.”

On hand this weekend ahead of the official start of carnival was internationally-renowned band Arcade Fire, a group which has had a connection with Haiti for several years — Regine Chassagne, one of the band’s founding members, is the daughter of Haitian parents.

Jacmel, largely considered to be Haiti’s artistic capital, is among the key cities on which Haiti has been placing its tourism hopes, with several infrastructure projects either recently completed or still underway.

Haiti will celebrate its National Carnival in the city of Gonaives early next month.