ABSTRACT
Little is still known about how community-led festivals emerge and evolve, what the organisers’ main aims are and what benefits the local community gets from their engagement in these events. The present study addresses such issues, based on empirical data collected in Portugal and Greece in 2023. Both the investigated festivals derive from ancient pagan carnival celebration traditions combined with local myths, are community-led, involve locals in the preparation and implementation stage, attract international and national visitors and are proudly presented by the local societies as part of their cultural heritage. Qualitative data deriving from semi-structured interviews with festival stakeholders provide useful insights to scholars and practitioners aiming to understand motivations and challenges associated with the development of small-scale, community-led carnival festivals, their relationship to sustainability and the role of inclusive practices to build and maintain a sense of community and belonging through such festivals.
