26th Pokhara Street Festival 2024 to be held from Dec 28 to Jan 1

KATHMANDU: The 26th Pokhara Street Festival 2024 will be held from Dec 28 to Jan 1 in the tourist city of Pokhara.

At a press conference in Kathmandu on Wednesday, the Restaurant and Bar Association of Nepal (REWAN) Pokhara announced that the festival would be organized on the occasion of the English New Year.

REWAN has been organizing the street festival continuously for the past 25 years. This year, as in previous years, the event will take place in celebration of the English New Year, as confirmed by the festival coordinator, Bikash Bhattarai.

The festival aims to promote Pokhara as a destination for both domestic and international tourists, with activities spread across a 3-kilometer area of the Lakeside region.

Bhattarai mentioned that the event’s motto is “Eat on the street, Dance on the street, Enjoy on the street.” He also highlighted that the festival plays a crucial role in promoting Pokhara’s art and culture, local product marketing, and branding. Furthermore, the street festival is expected to contribute to economic activities, foreign currency earnings, and job creation at the local level.

The festival will feature a variety of attractions, including cultural performances of endangered ethnic groups, displays of traditional attire, parade competitions, national and international food displays, and live concerts.

The organizers anticipate that around 500,000 domestic and international tourists will attend over the five-day event.

As the English New Year approaches, hotel bookings in Pokhara are already 40% full. REWAN has also made arrangements for restaurants to set up their own stalls at the festival, with measures in place to prevent external vendors from entering the venue.

For the New Year, Pokhara has over 700 hotels offering around 50,000 beds.