Onam Tourism Week fete to get underway on Aug 24

Trivandrum / August 23, 2026

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug. 23: Showcasing the rhythm and elegance of Kerala’s classical, folk and ethnic art traditions before a larger audience including tourists, the Onam Tourism Week Celebrations will commence at Kanakakkunnu Palace grounds here on August 24. 

The festival, organised by the State Tourism Department, will enliven multiple venues across the state, besides the state capital.

Chief Minister Shri VD Satheesan will inaugurate the state-level celebrations at Nishagandhi Open Air Auditorium here at 5 pm. The celebrations will conclude with a grand cultural procession in the city on August 30, which will be flagged off by Vice President of India Shri CP Radhakrishnan. Kerala Governor Shri Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar will attend the inaugural and valedictory functions.

Tourism Minister Shri PC Vishnunadh will preside over the inaugural ceremony where actor Kunchacko Boban will be the Chief Guest. Minister for Health and Devaswoms Shri K Muraleedharan will deliver the welcome address on the occasion.

The event will have the presence of Minister for Transport Shri C P John; Opposition Leader Shri Pinarayi Vijayan; Thiruvananthapuram Corporation Mayor Shri V V Rajesh and Dr Shashi Tharoor, MP, among others. 

The inaugural function will be followed by a dance performance by actress Sobhana.

Shri Vishnunadh said the festival will bring to limelight an amazing range of Kerala’s traditional dance and art forms of Kerala to a wider audience, especially tourists who turn up in large numbers to Kerala during the Onam season.  

“The Onam celebrations and other flagship events of Tourism Department will give an added thrust to government’s efforts to attract more foreign tourists to the state. The festival will be a visual treat for the visitors as they get a first-hand experience on Kerala’s distinct classical, folk and art traditions,” he added.

More than 3000 artists will be part of the event to be held in 35 venues across the Thiruvananthapuram district, including the prime venues at Kanakakkunnu and the Central Stadium in the city.

The festival is packed with riveting programmes, providing opportunities to hundreds of artists representing an amazing range of genres. Around 14 major media organisations are associating with the government in conducting programmes at Nishagandhi, Central Stadium and Poojappura from August 24-30.

As part of the celebrations, Nishagandhi will host performances of Kerala’s traditional ritual art forms, including Padayani, Theyyam, Mudiyettu, shadow puppetry, Arjuna Nritham, Thira and folklore fusion from 6pm to 7pm (August 25-30). Sopanam and Nattarangu venues of Kanakakkunnu will also host traditional art forms and various programmes.

Lyricists Kaithapram Damodaran Namboodiri and Vayalar Sarathchandra Varma will also attend Onam celebrations in the city. 

Playback singers Unni Menon, Kavalam Sreekumar, Madhu Balakrishnan, Manjari, Vaikom Vijayalakshmi, Harisankar, Anoop Sankar, Vineeth Sreenivasan, Harish Sivaramakrishnan (Agam Band), Sooraj Santhosh, Aparna Rajeev, Nithya Mammen, Najim Arshad, Abhaya Hiranmayi, Sachin Warrier and noted musicians will present programmes at various venues where more than 340 programmes will be staged.

About 100 venues will be set up in various districts where around 170 programmes will be performed. More than 8000 artists will be part of the programmes across the state. 

This time, more venues have been added to the festival, including international beach tourism hub Kovalam. A music night led by Vayalar Sharath Chandra Varma, and other cultural programmes will be held at Kovalam.  Programmes will also be held at the Kerala Arts and Craft Village in Vellar and at the cine tourism hotspot ‘Kireedam’ bridge.

Kerala’s traditional ritual art forms will also be part of the Onam celebrations conducted by the District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC) in respective districts.

Besides, an array of unique products that bear the imprint of Kerala’s tradition and culture are on display at the Onam trade fair and exhibition, opened at Kanakakkunnu Palace grounds as part of the festival. Food stalls have also been set up in festival venues across the state, bringing the flavour of different regions to the tourists as well as home crowd.

The event will also be leveraged as a platform for mounting awareness on flagship schemes and campaigns launched by the government, including the ‘Operation Toofan’ to crackdown on drug menace.

Ends