Like many Central American cities, Leon puts on a blockbuster show for Semana Santa including sawdust street-paintings and re-entactments of the Passion in Barrio Subtiava.
However, our choice for the best time to visit Leon has to be during the Festival Viva! - a week-long series of concerts and events that celebrate the incredible contributions that Viva Travel Guides have made to Nicaragua's cultural and literary heritage. Just kidding. Actually – the Festival Viva! is put on by the Viva Leon Jodido Youth Group to celebrate the city's cultural traditions by building enormous folkloric puppets. It's usually held in late April.
Leon, along with other Nicaraguan cities, also has huge celebrations for La Purisima between Nov. 28 and Dec. 7.