Each town celebrates Carnival a little differently. Some have huge parades with hand-built floats - giant paper-and-cardboard sculptures rolled through the streets. Some have music competitions, where local bands play late into the evening. Some have parades just for children, with school classes wearing matching outfits.
The city of El Callao, in the east, has the most famous Carnival. Its parades include 'madamas' - women in colourful long dresses and tall headscarves - who dance through the streets to drumbeats brought to Venezuela centuries ago by people from the Caribbean island of Trinidad.
Water-throwing is a Carnival tradition that children especially love. In the warm February weather, families and friends squirt each other with water balloons and water pistols. Most people expect to get drenched - and most people don't mind one bit.
Carnival is a time when everyone is welcome. Schools sometimes hold their own mini-carnivals, with pupils designing masks at home and parading through the playground. It is meant to be a moment when, for a few days, the normal rules relax and everyone celebrates being together.