February
The two-day Split Carnival in the middle of this month includes various fun activities, the highlight of which is an evening procession with many locals, donning masks, joining in. The main carnival is normally preceeded a few days before by a children's carnival in which the little ones can also don masks and take part in their own procession.

March
Gast Fair is the largest gastro event in Croatia, and will be held in the city from 7th to 11th March 2012.

April
Unsurprisingly, given its location, Split is home to the annual Croatia Boat Show. A large number of boats are exhibited by being moored in the city's harbour and a spectactular parade of boats is held on the final day of the show. This year sees the 14th such event, which will be held from 17th to 22nd April.

May
The Festival of Flowers is held each year in the cellars of Diocletian's Palace at the beginning of May, usually with a high number of exhibitors showing displays to a particular theme. A stunning display, be sure to check it out if you're in the city this month!

Split's patron saint, Saint Domnius (Sveti Duje in Croatian) is celebrated with a feast day held each year on 7th May.

The Festival of the European Short Story takes place at the end of May and the beginning of June each year, in Split and in Zagreb.

June
Picigin, a popular game played on the beaches of Split (read more about it here) has a "world" championship event held each year in early June - lots of fun to watch! (It's not at all a world championship in any traditional sense, but there are some competitors from other Mediterranean countries!)

The Mediterranean Film Festival Split takes place in early June each year, showcasing films from the region in several venues in Split.

July
The Split Summer Festival runs for about a month from mid-July to mid-August. Much like the Dubrovnik Summer Festival, this one features open-air theatre, music and dance performances at various special venues around the city, including in and around Diocletian's Palace. It's a must-see if you're in Split at this time.

Mali Split ("Small Split"), a children's and teen's entertainment festival, is held in Split in mid-July.

The Atlantis Festival, a festival with skater origins, is held at Djardin Park and Fort Gripe in Split each summer. Details of 2012's event are still be to announced.

August
On the first weekend of each August, a very famous and historic horseback tournament takes place in the town of Sinj, near Split. Now in its 296th year (that's not an error!) the Sinjska Alka (or Sinj Alka) sees competitors on horseback armed with lances, aiming to hit the inside of a metal ring (the alka), with points awarded according to which part of the ring has been hit. The Sinjska Alka was included on the UNESCO Intangible World Heritage List in 2010 (read more on the UNESCO site), and is well worth attending if you're in the region in early August.

Mid August for the last few years has seen the main promenade in Split - the Riva - turned into the Discotheque Riva, what is claimed to be the world's largest open air disco. Last year, Faithless headlined, with Fedde Le Grande, Felix Da Housecat and a few other names also on the bill. 2012's event is still to be announced, but watch this space!

The "Days of Diocletian" take place each year in mid- to end-August, with the streets surrounding Diocletian's Palace and near the waterfront turning into something resembling...Roman Emperor Diocletian's time!

September
The Split Film Festival runs for eight days from 15th to 22nd September 2012, showing new films from across the world from a variety of categories, themes, genres and styles.