Natal is very proud to be a calm sanctuary throughout the week of Carrnival. However, it does know how to party and proves it during its off-season Carnival called “Carnatal.” This Carnival occurs in the first weeks of December. Natal is not the only city who celebrates their own off-season festival; Fortaleza has Fortal, Recife has Recifolia, Natal has Carnatal; literally, hundreds of other smaller cities around Brazil organize their own carnival.

During Carnatal, the streets around the soccer stadium, Machadão stadium, is filled with people, as a huge truck called "trio elétrico" with a band on the top and acoustic speakers all around, drives slowly along the streets as the dancing and frolicking crowd follows. It is necessary to buy entrance into each  "bloco" (block). A bloco is run by a company who has rights to participate in Carnatal and controls access. Some famous blocos: Caju, Jerimum, Nana Banana, Coco, Cheiro. Once entrance is purchased, partiers are given a "abadá" which is a special, colorful kind of t-shirt that says the bloco. The cost of abadás on the fame and popularity of the band so it is advised to buy the abada beforehand to avoid the danger of selling out.

Also, around Machadão, the organization mounts "camarotes", which are cabins where spectators can watch the band go by. ns from where you can see the crowd passing by; in a camarote, you can see the bands more closely (the camarotes are at a high level from the floor). Travelers should keep in mind that though police are everywhere, travelers should be wary of pick-pockets.