Karnea is Delta Tau Delta’s biennial international convention. Karnea, which means "festival of Apollo," has been dubbed "The Greatest of all Delt Events." It is an event each member of the Fraternity should attend at least once at some point during his life. The Karnea is the legislative body of the Fraternity where an assembly of delegates of all the chapters gather to discuss the business of the Fraternity. However, there’s a whole lot more. The time spent at Karnea is divided between legislation, fellowship and learning. Those undergraduates and alumni who attend Karnea have the opportunity to attend various programs to assist them in their positions as advisors or officers. There are social events during the conference to showcase entertainment in the host city. The final banquet wraps everything up with memories from the weekend and the formal announcement of the new Arch Chapter, including the international president of the Fraternity.
Previous Karnea dates and locations
| 1869 Meadville, Pa. | 1929 Indianapolis |
| 1870 Cleveland | 1931 Seattle |
| 1871 Columbus, Ohio | 1933 Chicago |
| 1872 Bloomington, Ind. | 1935 Memphis |
| 1873 Akron, Ohio | 1937 Pittsburgh |
| 1874 Pittsburgh | 1939 Estes Park, Colo. |
| 1875 Meadville, Pa. | 1941 White Sulphur Springs, W. Va. |
| 1876 Ann Arbor, Mich. | 1943 Chicago |
| 1877 Bethlehem, Pa. | 1946 Chicago |
| 1878 Akron, Ohio | 1948 French Lick Springs, Ind. |
| 1879 Put-in-Bay, Ohio | 1950 Columbus, Ohio |
| 1880 Chicago | 1952 Mackinac Island, Mich. |
| 1881 Pittsburgh | 1954 Pasadena, Calif. |
| 1882 Cleveland | 1956 Houston |
| 1883 Indianapolis | 1958 Pittsburgh |
| 1884 Watkins Glen, N.Y. | 1960 Swampscott, Mass. |
| 1885 Detroit | 1962 New Orleans |
| 1886 Louisville, Ky. | 1964 Cincinnati |
| 1887 Columbus, Ohio | 1966 Portland, Ore. |
| 1888 Cleveland | 1968 New York |
| 1889 Cleveland | 1970 Toronto, Ont. |
| 1891 Cleveland | 1972 Atlanta |
| 1893 Indianapolis | 1974 Lake of the Ozarks, Mo. |
| 1895 Cleveland | 1976 Minneapolis |
| 1897 Chicago | 1978 New Orleans |
| 1899 Chicago | 1980 Pittsburgh |
| 1901 Milwaukee | 1982 St. Louis, Mo. |
| 1903 Cleveland | 1984 Columbus, Ohio |
| 1905 New York | 1986 Lexington, Ky. |
| 1907 Chicago | 1988 Toronto, Ont. |
| 1909 Pittsburgh | 1990 Coeur D’Alene, Idaho |
| 1911 Chicago | 1992 Chicago |
| 1913 Indianapolis | 1994 Atlanta |
| 1915 San Francisco | 1996 Washington, D.C. |
| 1917 Buffalo | 1998 Kansas City |
| 1919 Boston | 2000 Minneapolis |
| 1921 Omaha | 2002 Los Angeles |
| 1923 Cleveland | 2004 Denver |
| 1925 Conneaut Lake Park, Pa. | 2006 Indianapolis |
| 1927 Savannah | 2008 Pittsburgh |