Kerala’s harvest festival
Onam 2027
Kerala’s harvest festival: a 26-dish sadya on a banana leaf, pookalam flower carpets, and Malayali associations everywhere booking a hall for it.
- Onam 2026
- Wednesday, 26 August 2026
- Onam 2027
- Sunday, 12 September 2027
- No Onam events posted in Belgium yet — the page has the big celebrations and their dates.
Onam events near you
What Onam is
Onam welcomes the mythical king Mahabali home to Kerala. The ten days end on Thiruvonam with the Onasadya — a vegetarian feast of two dozen dishes served on a banana leaf — and are marked with pookalam floral designs, boat races, and the tiger dance, pulikali.
Abroad the Malayali associations hire a hall on the nearest Saturday, cook the sadya for several hundred people, and run a cultural programme of thiruvathira dance, songs and children’s performances. Tickets go to members first and sell out; non-members should ask early.
Onam in Belgium
Brussels, Antwerp and Ghent each have a Malayali association with an Onam celebration; banana leaves and Kerala vegetables are stocked by the Indian grocers in Brussels and Antwerp the week before.
In Brussels the celebration is Kairali Belgium’s — the Malayali association founded in 2007 — whose Onam day (“Onavarnangal”) moves between halls in Evere and Kraainem: 12 September 2026 at the Agora in Kraainem, ticketed, with the sadya served through the afternoon and a cultural programme; the Embassy of India has attended in past years.
Onam in Germany
Malayali associations in Frankfurt, Munich, Berlin and Cologne hold Onam sadyas and cultural programmes, many continuing a tradition begun by the Keralite nurses who came to Germany in the 1960s and 70s.
Onam in the Netherlands
The Netherlands Malayalee associations in the Amsterdam, Eindhoven and The Hague areas hold the biggest Onam sadyas in the Benelux.
Onam in the UK
Malayali associations across the UK — in London, Birmingham, Manchester and the many towns where Keralite nurses work for the NHS — hold Onam sadyas, pookalam contests and thiruvathira dance over several September weekends.
If it is your first one abroad
- The sadya is eaten by hand, seated, and served in a fixed order — follow your neighbour.
- Wear white and gold (kasavu) if you have it; it is the one day the whole hall does.
New Indian events near you, by email
Once a week, and only when something new is on within 10 km of where you live — garba nights, Diwali melas, meetups, concerts. Free, and one click switches it off.
Onam is better with people near you
Free, in every country. Everything below is ranked by how far it is from you.
- Groups near youJoin the Indian community groups in your city — chat, plans and people who get it.
- Events near youEvery festival, garba night and meetup, ranked by distance, with RSVP and reminders.
- Buy and sellSarees, kurtas, furniture, kitchen things — from people a few streets away.
- Rent near youRooms and flats from the community, with the person behind the listing one tap away.
Questions people ask
- When is Onam in 2026?
- Thiruvonam falls on 26 August 2026. Association celebrations abroad are usually on the Saturday closest to it or the one after.
Other festivals
Organising something?
Post it from the app under Events, wherever you are. It is free, a moderator checks it, and it appears here and to every member nearby. Running several a year? Email hello@namaste.community for a listing invite.