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Carnival celebrations, held during the traditional week-long Mardi Gras period that ends on Ash Wednesday, feature costume parades, dancing, music and other festivities. Fête des Cuisinières (Festival of Women Cooks) is held in Pointe-à-Pitre in early August. Women in Creole dress, carrying baskets of traditional foods, parade through the streets to the cathedral where they are blessed by the bishop. The parade is followed by a banquet and dancing. Also in early August is the Tour Cycliste de la Guadeloupe, a 10-day international cycling race.