Festivals are what Dominicans do best. In Puerto Plata three festivals are held annually.

The Cultural Festival is held in the third week of June. It is a celebration of Dominican customs and arts with performances held at the Fuerte de San Felipe of folk music, traditional African dances, salsa, and merengue. Art exhibits are displayed in the Parque Central.

Perhaps the most beloved festival of all is the Merengue Festival. Though the festival is not yet even 10 years old, merengue has been the dance and a way of life in the Dominican Republic for generations. It is the soundtrack to which your vacation will most likely take place. It blares out of car windows, on the corners of colmados, on the beaches, or is simply carried through the air on the voices of the Dominicans, who always seem to be singing. The festival is a four-day extravaganza held the first week of October. The Merengue Festival is celebrated in many locations throughout the country. In Puerto Plata, the entire length of the three-kilometer Malecón (Puerto Plata and Avenida Circunvalación) is shut down to make way for food stalls.