Carnavales de Sweet Havana Returns August 1–2 to Fourth Street Live! — A Cuban Festival Powered by Louisville’s Latino Community
Carnavales de Sweet Havana returns to Fourth Street Live! on August 1–2, 2026, for its third annual celebration of Cuban culture, music, food, and Louisville’s growing Latino community. Free and open to the public, the two-day festival is expected to welcome more than 8,000 attendees and will feature Miami-based dance company Baila con Micho, DJ Yus, local and national Latin talent, Cuban and Latin food vendors, a Latin makers’ market, family programming, and continued community giveback efforts for Louisville children and families. What began as a one-day block party in the Sweet Havana parking lot has quickly grown into one of the largest Cuban festivals in the Midwest — built by Louisville’s Latino community and shared with the entire city.
Free, third-annual celebration headlined by Miami’s Baila con Micho expects 8,000 attendees — including more than 200 traveling in from Miami — and continues its Day-1 tradition of giving back to Louisville children and families.
LOUISVILLE, Ky., May ___, 2026 — Carnavales de Sweet Havana, Louisville’s vibrant celebration of Cuban culture and the city’s growing Latino community, will return to Fourth Street Live! on Saturday, Aug. 1 and Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, for its third annual edition. Free and open to the public, the two-day festival will be headlined by Miami-based dance company Baila con Micho and is on track to draw 8,000 attendees (more than triple the size of its inaugural year) to be part of what has quickly become one of the largest Cuban festivals in the Midwest.
What began in 2024 as a one-day block party in the Sweet Havana parking lot, with 2,500 attendees, has, in just two years, become a regional cultural destination. The 2025 festival expanded to two days at Fourth Street Live! and welcomed an estimated 7,000 guests, drawing visitors from across Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio and Tennessee. Organizers project at least 8,000 attendees for the 2026 edition, with an expanded musical lineup, a Latin makers’ market, more than two dozen Cuban and Latin food vendors, and family programming throughout both days.
A Festival Built by the Community It Celebrates
Carnavales has been a community-built effort from day one. Dozens of Latino-owned small businesses have rallied behind the festival year after year, donating products, sponsoring stages, lending equipment, providing volunteers, and showing up in force to make Carnavales feel like home. It is, by design, a festival built by Latinos, for all of Louisville.
“As Latinos in Louisville, we have to come together — Cubans, Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Venezuelans, every flag, every story,” said Carmen Margarita Coro, founder of Sweet Havana and Carnavales de Sweet Havana. “Carnavales are a Cuban tradition that barely exists anymore on the island. When we put on our first one, we had older people crying because they remembered the old Cuba of the 50s and 60s. That is why we do this. To keep what we love alive, and to share it with everyone in this city.”
2026 Lineup and National Reach
Headlining the 2026 festival is Baila con Micho, the renowned Miami-headquartered dance company that has co-organized Carnavales’ entertainment programming since Day 1. Known across South Florida for its salsa, bachata, and Afro-Cuban dance instruction, Baila con Micho expanded its academy into Louisville in 2025 — a vote of confidence in the city’s growing Cuban and Latino community, and a reflection of the company’s mission to share Cuban dance and joy beyond Miami’s borders. Joining the lineup is DJ Yus, along with a slate of local and national Latin talent. Another headlining international Cuban artists will be announced in the coming weeks.
Built-In Community Service
Giving back has been part of Carnavales’ mission from the start. In its inaugural year (2024), the festival partnered with Jefferson County Public Schools to distribute free backpacks to Louisville students heading into the new school year. In 2025, the festival expanded the program in collaboration with Kentucky Refugee Ministries (KRM) and other local nonprofits, handing out bicycles, toys and school supplies to children and families across the city. The 2026 edition will continue and expand that tradition, with new community partners to be announced.
“Louisville is hungry for culture,” said Nachely Martinez, co-founder of Carnavales de Sweet Havana and owner of Sweet Colada. “There is an appetite from this community to uplift and celebrate our cultures. Carnavales fills a gap that has existed for too long. For our Latino families, it means you don’t have to drive to Miami or Chicago to feel the music we grew up on. For the rest of Louisville, it is an invitation to come dance with us.”
That hunger reflects something larger. Louisville is now home to one of the fastest-growing Cuban populations in the United States, and Latino-owned small businesses are an increasingly visible part of the city’s neighborhood and downtown economies. Carnavales puts that contribution on stage — and it does so the way Latinos celebrate everything: with music, food, family and joy.
Festival Details
What: Carnavales de Sweet Havana — 3rd Annual Cuban Festival
When: Saturday, Aug. 1 and Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026
Where: Fourth Street Live!, 400 S. Fourth St., Louisville, KY 40202
Lineup: Baila con Micho (Miami/Louisville) · DJ Yus · special Cuban artists TBA · local and national Latin talent
Admission: Free and open to the public, all ages welcome
More info: carnavalessweethavana.com | @carnavalessweethavana
Sponsorship, vendor, and community-partner opportunities for the 2026 edition are still available. Interested partners, media outlets and nonprofits are encouraged to contact the Carnavales team at info@carnavalaessweethavana.com or visit carnavalessweethavana.com to learn more, request a press kit, or arrange interviews with festival organizers, featured artists, and the Latino business owners who have made Carnavales possible.
About Carnavales de Sweet Havana
Carnavales de Sweet Havana is an annual celebration of Cuban culture, music, cuisine and community produced by Sweet Havana, the Louisville-based Cuban bakery and restaurant founded by Carmen Margarita Coro and co-led with her daughter, Nachely Martinez, who in 2025 opened the sister café and bar Sweet Colada in the Shelby Park neighborhood. Launched in 2024, Carnavales has quickly become one of Louisville’s premier cultural events and one of the largest Cuban festivals in the Midwest, dedicated to honoring Cuban heritage, uniting Louisville’s diverse Latino community, supporting Latino small businesses, and welcoming the wider Louisville community into the warmth of Cuban tradition. Carnavales is presented in partnership with Fourth Street Live! and supported by sponsors and Latino-owned businesses across Louisville.
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