Festivals & Fairs

Festivals in Jamnagar symbolize people's cultural, social and religious aspirations for fuller and better life. Festivals like Diwali, Navratri, Makkar Sankrati (Kite Festival), Janmashtami and Holi are the most notable festivals. Other festivals like Ramnavami, Mahashivaratri, Mahavir Jayanti and Paryushana are also celebrated in a big way.

Diwali is a four day festival of the Hindu New Year, beginning with Laxmi-puja. Diwali celebrations are accompanied by fire-crackers and sweets. Every home is illuminated and decorated.

Navratri is the festival of nine nights in honour of Goddess Ambaji. Both male and female congregate in public to perform dance called Garba and Ras.

On 14th January the day when Sun enters the tropic of Cancer, Makkar Sankrati festival is observed. On this day young and old fly kites from every imaginable place.This is true for other places in Gujarat but Jamnagar is an exception.

Holi is the festival of spring, observed on the full moon day of the month of Falgun as per Hindu calendar (March/April). It is a festival of colour when people smear and spray colour on their near and dear ones.

Janmashtami is celebrated in a big way in Saurashtra (also all over India) on the twenty-third day in the month of Shravan as per Hindu calender (August/September). This day is celebrated in honour of Lord Krishna, being his birthday.The Janmashtami fair is held at Jamnagar, Dwarka, Beyt, and the Ramdev Pir fair at Vodisang in Kalavad taluka.

The fairs in Gujarat are generally associated with some deities and religious observances. Most of the fairs are held on river banks, hill sides, seashores or pilgrim centres.

The fair held at Tarnetar in Surendranagar district is perhaps the best that Gujarat has to offer. It is held in winter. Other fairs at Vautha, Chandod, Shuklatirth and Shamlaji are also worth visiting.

Itinerary of festivals & fairs in Gujarat

Fairs & Festivals	Speciality	2000	2001	2002
International Kite Festival, Ahmedabad	An International Kite Festival held on Uttarayan or Makkar Sankrati	January 13/14/15	January 13/14/15	January 13/14/15
Dance Festival at Sun Temple, Modhera	An annual festival of Indian classical dances at the site of Sun Temple.	January 21/22/23	January 19/20/21	January 18/19/20
Kutch Mahotsav	A special tour of Kutch organized by The Tourism Corpn. of Gujarat Ltd.	March 2/3/4	February 19/20/21	March 10/11/12
Bhavnath Mahadev Fair, Junagadh	A religious fair held on Mahashivratri where the procession of Naga Bava (sage) is most important.	March 4/5/6	February 21/22/23	March 12/13/14
Dangs Darbar, Ahwa	Annual fair of tribals of the Dangs famous for its dances.	March 10 to14	March 9 to 13	March 28 to April 1
Chitra-Vichitra Fair, Gunbhakhari	A traditional tribal fair	April 2	March 23	April 11
Janmashtami Fair, Dwarka	Fair held on birthday of Lord Krishna.	August 23	August 12	August 31
Tarnetar Fair, Tarnetar	A traditional fair offering variety of culture & custom, folk music & dances & folk costumes.	September 2/3/4	August 22/23/24	September 10/11/12
Bhadra Purnima Fair, Ambaji	A fair at the shrine of Goddess Ambaji.	September 12	September 1	September 20
Navratri	A festival held for nine nights in honour of Goddess Ambaji.	Sept. 28 to Oct. 7	Oct. 17 to 25	Oct. 7 to 14
Shamlaji Melo, Shamlaji	A traditional fair at the renowned Vaishnav temple of Shamlaji	Nov. 11	Nov. 30	Nov. 20
Vautha Mela, Vautha	Only major animal trading fair in Gujarat.	Nov. 11 to 14/15	Nov. 1 to 4/5	Nov. 20 to 23/24