Shimla Fairs and Festivals

Ice Skating Carnival: With the onset of winter in November, water begins to freeze at the ice skating ground located at a lower elevation on the northern slope from The Ridge. This has the winter sport loving tribe of ice skaters all excited. The ice skating season lasts upto February and at around the Christmas – New Year festive week, a lively ice skating carnival is held at this open air rink.

Summer Festival: Celebrating the city’s lifestyle, Summer Festival held in the month of May/June invites tourists and locals to have a jolly good time with dance, music and other activities of interest. The festival holds a variety of programs which include flower shows, painting and photography exhibitions, book festivals and power packed cultural evenings. Star entertaining actors share the stage with budding local talent.

Lavi Fair: Held after the year’s harvest, Lavi is a historic trade fair held every year on November 11 with much fanfare for three days at Rampur Bushair in Sutlej valley. Stalls are set up at open places in the town and traders from near and far do brisk business in selling local produce, handicrafts, handloom products and other manufactured goods. Kinnauri woolens – garments, wool, pashmina, shawls, handwoven tweeds, metalware, pottery, jewellery, crunchy apples, Kinnauri horses, the dry fruits like chilgoza, walnuts, almonds and dried apricots are high demand products at Lavi. The evenings are given to cultural performances where the crowds are entertained to lively music with a popular star usually putting in a show.

Sipi Fair: The Sipi fair is an annual event held at Mashobra, near Shimla, in May. The fair commemorates Sipi Devta, the local deity. Activities such as archery, cultural programmes and acrobatics are the highlights at this fair.

Rohru Fair: Held every year in April on the bank of River Pabbar at Rohru, the summer fair is held in honour of Shikru Devta, the local deity. The fair is marked by cultural performances of local dances and trading in local produce and products. The fair attracts buyers from neighbouring parts of the region also.