Mumbai’s Kala Ghoda Festival is one of the Biggest Free Art and Cultural Festival in the World. With over 500 events spread over 9 days, the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival attracts large crowds. All events and activities at the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival are FREE.
For the complete Kala Ghoda Festival schedule, please visit this link to the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival website.
Start and End Dates of 2020 Kala Ghoda Arts Festival
The Kala Ghoda Festival starts on the first Saturday in February. The Kala Ghoda Festival goes on for 9 days and ends on the second Sunday of February.
START DATE OF KALA GHODA FESTIVAL 2020: 1 February, 2020 (Saturday)
END DATE OF KALA GHODA FESTIVAL 2020: 9 February, 2020 (Sunday)
Events and Schedule of Kala Ghoda Festival 2020
Please visit the Kala Ghoda Association website for the full schedule of events.
In 2020, the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival (KGAF) has over 500 events in 14 categories.
- Children Events at KGAF 2020: At Kala Ghoda Arts Festival 2020 there are 61 Children events. Children’s activity-based events and workshops are held at the Museum lawn (Museum Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, “CSMVS” for short). Children’s Literature events are held at Kitab Khana (ground floor of Somaiya Bhavan near Flora Fountain statue), Somaiya Centre, Horniman Circle, and NGMA. Kala Ghoda Arts Festival has an outreach program for Mumbai schools where they conduct sessions at schools. Only for Children’s Literature events registration needs to be done by sending an email to litkids17.kgaf@gmail.com.
- Theatre Plays at KGAF 2020: Kala Ghoda Festival 2020 has 25 plays in English, Hindi, Marathi and Gujarati staged at Horniman Circle Gardens and National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA). Plays are popular at Kala Ghoda Arts Festival and audiences usually start queuing one hour before the start of the play.
- Standup Comedy at KGAF 2020: Kala Ghoda Festival 2020 has 23 short Stand Up Comedy performances by Established and Up-coming Indian performers. Since this event is very popular, do come to the venue at least an hour before the start.
- Dance Events at KGAF 2020: Kala Ghoda Festival 2020 has 36 Dance Events. These events cover a wide spectrum of Indian (Classical and Contemporary) and International Dance Forms. All Kala Ghoda Festival Dance events are at the open-air Cross Maidan Ground, except for one event at NGMA. Entry is open to all and there is no reservation.
- Movies and Films at KGAF 2020: Movies at Kala Ghoda Festival are screened at Coomaraswamy Hall (CSMVS Museum Ground Floor) and Museum Visitor’s Centre (near entrance of Museum).
- Food Programs at KGAF 2020: At the 2020 Kala Ghoda Arts Festival, there are 12 Food Events. These events will be held at different locations in and around Kala Ghoda. Please refer to the Kala Ghoda Festival schedule for details.
- Literature Events at KGAF 2020: Literature Events at the 2020 Kala Ghoda Festival include book launches, meeting with authors, discussions, conversations, poetry sessions and more. There are 62 Literature events in English, Marathi, and Gujarati. All Kala Ghoda Arts Festival Literature events are held in the garden of David Sassoon Library (DSL). Children’s Literature Events will be held at Somaiya Centre, Kitab Khana (ground floor of Somaiya Bhavan near Flora Fountain statue), NGMA and Horniman Circle Garden.
- Music at KGAF 2020: 2020 Kala Ghoda Festival has an exciting Music program. Events include concerts in Indian Classical, Indi Pop, Indian Fusion, Sufi, Jazz, English Classical, Percussions and Pop. Kala Ghoda Music events are held at Cross Maidan. There is one event at NGMA.
- Heritage Walks at KGAF 2020: At the 2020 Kala Ghoda Festival there are 36 Heritage Walk Events. These events are based at various locations in South Mumbai. The Heritage Bus Tours on Saturday and Sunday are very popular. Do book your passes early because there are limited seats. If one is lucky one can get a seat on the bus if pre-booked passengers do not show up.
- Street Events at KGAF 2020: Ethnic Indian Street performers will perform mid-air tightrope walking, Bahurupia and Kachchighodi folk dance during weekdays from 5:00 pm to 9:30 pm. Street events will be held at Rampart Row (Kala Ghoda Road, aka K Dubash Road).
- Stalls at KGAF 2020:The 2020 Kala Ghoda Arts Festival has around 150 stalls. There are many stalls belonging to NGOs and Government organizations. Stalls are lined along the Kala Ghoda Road (Rampart Row or K Dubash Road) and in the traffic triangle outside Jehangir Art Gallery.
- Visual Arts Installations at KGAF 2020: Innovative Visual Art installations are strongly associated with the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival. In 2020 there are 55 Visual Art installations mainly at Rampart Row (Kala Ghoda Main Road) and Cross Maidan. There are also exhibitions at Jehangir Art Gallery.
- Workshops at KGAF 2020: There are 31 Workshops at the 2020 Kala Ghoda Festival. These workshops are held at Coomaraswamy Hall (Museum), BNHS Auditorium, and NGMA.
- Urban Design and Architecture at KGAF 2020: Kala Ghoda Arts Festival 2020 has discussions, interviews, presentations and films based on Design, Architecture and the city. All 23 events will be held at Max Mueller Bhavan.
PLEASE NOTE: Although all events are free, some require prior registration. Usually, Workshops, Heritage Walks, Food events and some Children’s events require prior registration. Please check the Kala Ghoda Association website for events that require registration and how to register.
Even if some Kala Ghoda events are houseful and you are not able to register, we suggest you arrive at the venue before the event. Sometimes there is no-show by registered participants and you may get lucky. For example, a popular event is Heritage Bus Tour of South Mumbai. Often there are free seats at the last moment because some registered participants have not shown up.
PLEASE NOTE: Weekends get very crowded at Kala Ghoda Arts Festival. Evenings are the most crowded. Time taken to enter the venue can range from 15 to 30 minutes, with the entry line stretching from the Kala Ghoda parking triangle (Entry Gate) to the museum. We suggest you enter via the Museum where the queues are relatively smaller.
Security checks at Kala Ghoda Arts Festival is strict. Those with bags take longer to enter the festival venue. There is a separate queue for visitors without bags; this queue tends to be much shorter.
PLEASE NOTE: Visitors usually start queuing up 45 minutes to an hour before the start of popular events such as Music Concerts at Asiatic Library, Plays, Stand-up Comedy, Food events and Children’s events. This is because these events are on a first-come-serve basis and seating is limited.
Venue of Events at Kala Ghoda Festival 2020
Events at Kala Ghoda Arts Festival are held in and around “Kala Ghoda” which is a precinct in South Mumbai. Following a Bombay High Court order, use of loud speakers has been disallowed at K Dubash Road (Kala Ghoda Road, also called Rampert Row). Music and Dance events have been moved to Cross Maidan near Churchgate Railway Station.
The closest Local train stations to reach Kala Ghoda are Churchgate (Western Railways) and CST (Central Railway and Harbour Line).
Map of Venues of Kala Ghoda Arts Festival 2020
Kala Ghoda is also known as K Dubash Marg. This map shows the location of Kala Ghoda Festival events.
Click on Map to View Kala Ghoda Arts Festival Location in a Larger Map
Organizers of the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival
Kala Ghoda Association (KGA) has been organizing the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival since 1999.
Kala Ghoda Association was formed in 1998 with the objective of focusing on South Mumbai’s Kala Ghoda area. Kala Ghoda is considered the Art precinct of Mumbai. Kala Ghoda is home to Art Galleries, Museums, Designer Shops, multi-cuisine Restaurants, Bars and historic Heritage Buildings based on Indo-Saracenic and Art-Deco styles of architecture.
Kala Ghoda Association works towards the beautification and conservation of the Kala Ghoda area.
RELATED ARTICLES:
- One Day Walking Tour And Map of Mumbai’s Main Tourist Places
- Kala Ghoda Arts Festival 2016
- Kala Ghoda Arts Festival 2015
- Kala Ghoda Arts Festival 2014
- Best Places To See And Best Things To Do In Mumbai
- Mumbai’s Top 10 Best And Most Famous Tourist Attractions
- Top 10 Best College Festivals in Mumbai
Mumbai Kala Ghoda Arts Festival