Goa carnival festivities to be held from Feb 28: Cleeven Mathew Fernandes

Panaji: The annual Goa carnival will be celebrated from February 28 and float parades across the coastal state will be held from March 1, an official said on Tuesday.

The tourism department has announced Cleeven Mathew Fernandes as this year's 'King Momo', the mythical leader of the highly patronised carnival float parade.

Hailing from Benaulim in South Goa, Fernandes was selected out of four applicants after a screening process.

The annual carnival festival in the state will be celebrated from February 28 to March 4, Director of Tourism Kedar Naik told the news agency.

The grand curtain-raiser float parade will be held in Porvorim (North Goa) near here on February 28, followed by the float parades on March 1 in Panaji, he said.

Chief Minister Pramod Sawant will flag off the float parade in Panaji, Naik said.

This will be followed by the float parades in Margao (South Goa) on March 2, in Vasco (South Goa) on March 3, and in Mapusa and Morjim (both in North Goa) on March 4.