Dream of visiting Rio de Janeiro or Trinidad and Tobago during Carnaval season? The street parties sure seem like a lot of fun, with their sea of colourful costumes and the cacophonous riot of music. Well, the wait is over: Montreal is getting its own this weekend!

Organized as part of the AfroMonde festival, this free Carnaval is a local celebration of the world's cultures. The highlight of the event is a parade of traditional outfits, music and dance taking place in the Old Port on August 28 at 2 p.m.

Wherever you come from, you are welcome to attend, organizers say.

"Living and working in Montreal, we can easily forget where we come from." Agnès Moume founded the AfroMonde festival in 2009 in order to address a lack of cultural events geared towards children of immigrants. "Thanks to immigration, we have now many Afro-Quebecers who were born here, like some of the generations before them. AfroMonde is simply a celebration of the diversity among the population of Montreal," she says.

Registered participants in the Carnaval are set to gather in their outfits at Clock Tower Beach. From there, the colourful crowd will walk to the main stage of the festival where the festivities will continue until 11 p.m.

Festival-goers are expected to hit the dance floors with flags of the world. You can expect artists such as Saya Percussion, Shakky, Natural Fyah, Kayla Allen, Adan De Dios, Mello G and more.

If you cannot make it to the Carnaval, AfroMonde's program includes tons of other free activities from August 25 to 28.

Registration for the Carnaval is online. Get the details below.