Updated on 03/23/2024
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I would also like to recommend our Colombia travel guide, which provides a perfect overview of the tourist attractions in Colombia. Enjoy reading it!
Content
Feria de Cali
From December 25th to 30th each year, celebrations take place in the city of Cali. During this celebration, the city is full of music, salsa dancing, colorful parades, live concerts, a huge gastronomic exhibition and a varied program with more than 70 activities and cultural events.
This festival is not just about dance and entertainment, but also a window into local and Colombian culture. With the participation of more than 10,000 artists, the Cali Fair has become an emblematic event, the most representative and important of the authentic Cali spirit as well as of the Valle del Cauca region itself.
Location
Events take place all over the city. We therefore recommend you to visit the official website.
Number of participants
More than 300,000 visitors.
Free admission?
Visiting the fair is free for most events, however, there are important events during the fair that require an entry ticket:
- Salsódromo
- Fiesta de mi pueblo
- Desfile de classic and antique cars
- Super concierto
- Desfile de carnaval de Cali Viejo
- Festival de orchestras
Cultural activities and additional services
- Parade of salsa dancers
- Meeting of music lovers and music collectors
- Classical cars parade
- Thematic events with gastronomy, fireworks and recreational activities
- Musical shows by artists with high national and international renown
- Rural and community fairs with sports, environmental and artistic activities
- Outdoor theater performances
- Regional gastronomic fairs
- Taurine fairs
- Comedy events
- Book fairs
- Cultural cinema events in different points in the city
- Local handicrafts exhibition
- Carnival folklore parades
- Instrumental and orchestral events
Why should you visit the Feria de Cali?
Cali is still an insider tip in Colombia. The Feria de Cali mobilizes the entire city at the end of the year. The events are colorful and you can see professional dancers as well as the entire population dancing everywhere.
Festival Mundial de Salsa
The World Festival of Salsa has taken place every year since 2005. The best dancers, around 4,000 local and international artists, orchestras, schools and salsa academies from all over the world show off their skills. They compete against each other in various categories. Over six days in September, the event will host shows, cultural activities and concerts with local and international artists.
Cali is currently considered the world capital of salsa. Additionally, a Guinness record was broken in 2020 for the largest number of people dancing to the same salsa song. Around 5,000 attended, showing Cali’s commitment to salsa and its festivals.
Location
El Pueblo Coliseum, Calle 1 #4-93, Cali, Valle del Cauca.
Free admission?
Yes, access to this festival is free for the entire public.
Number of participants
30,000 – 44,000 visitors.
Cultural activities and additional services
- Dance competitions of various types of salsa
- Musical concerts with guest and local artists
- Free classes to perform or learn salsa dancing
- Conferences with special guests
- Thematic art exhibitions
- Space to exchange items, records, instruments, memories and more
- Musical performance space for young people
- Humor and story-telling festival
- Screening of films, documentaries and animations with salsa themes
- Salsa literary festival with presentations of books, magazines, poems, etc.
- Gastronomic areas in Cali and Valle del Cauca
Why should you take part in the Festival Mundial de Salsa?
It’s a unique opportunity to see the best salsa dancers in the world and also improve your steps.
International Film Festival in Cali
The Cali International Film Festival is an annual festival celebrating audiovisual culture. The aim is to promote the development of local and international cinema with a critical perspective. On six consecutive days, usually in November, independent films and innovative film proposals from various genres are shown. In addition, the fair promotes research, screenwriting and film production, as well as the exploration of other artistic, social, experimental and aesthetic expressions of cinema through workshops and cultural events.
Locations
Officially, cinema screenings take place in two locations:
- Cinemateca del Museo La Tertulia, Cra 1 #5-105, Cali, Valle del Cauca
- Izi Movie Cinemas, Aquarela Centro Comercial, Cra 80 #13ª 261 2nd Floor, Cali, Valle del Cauca.
The remaining planned activities and events typically take place in different parts of the city each year, such as universities and outdoor public spaces. For this reason, we recommend that you stay updated with news on the official website.
Free admission?
No.
- Cinemateca of the La Tertulia Museum
- Izi Movie Cinemas
- Screenings in neighborhoods, outdoor venues and universities: free admission
Number of participants
About 20,000 visitors.
Cultural activities and additional services
- National and international competitions for short and feature films with the best films of the year
- Concerts with live musical performances
- Research seminars, workshops and discussions with experts to delve deeper into topics related to cinema
- Tribute section for Afro-films
- Film screening in honor of Joe Arroyo, Colombia’s salsa legend
- Outdoor film screenings in urban areas
- Film screenings in cinemas, museums, neighborhoods and shopping centers around the city
- Cinematheque programs for young audiences at universities
- Free directing, acting, screenwriting and criticism workshops from experts
Cali International Dance Biennale
The dance festival brings together dancers and choreographers from different parts of the world. It is celebrated every two years in November and lasts seven days. The diverse program includes presentations, conferences and competitions, transforming the city into a stage for folk, contemporary and experimental dance.
The International Dance Biennale Festival has been recognized by the Ministry of Culture as one of the best cultural events in the country because it promotes creation and research in the field of dance through scholarships and calls for proposals and supports various groups, researchers and national and international artists.
Location
This festival takes place every year in various public places around the city, including theaters, cultural centers, museums and libraries. For this reason, we recommend that you visit the official website so that you are aware of the news.
Free admission?
Yes, this event is free and open to the entire public.
Number of participants
30,000 – 50,000 visitors.
Cultural activities and additional services
- Artistic exhibitions of painting, sculpture, photography, video, performance and much more
- Workshops, discussions and conferences in the field of art and culture
- Presentations of contemporary dance works from different countries
- Creation of research projects in dance
- Audiovisual platform that combines dance with film language
- Urban dance competitions
- Section with homages to the most representative figures of dance and artistic exhibitions
- Stage production courses
- Gastronomic spaces
Petronio Álvarez Festival
Petronio Alvarez Festival celebrates the music and traditions of the Colombian Pacific. Held every August for five days in the city of Cali, it brings together about 1,500 artists and exhibitors to perform musical genres such as currulao, chirimía and bunde. This festival is a tribute to the composer Petronio Álvarez, who is now considered the father of Pacific music. This festival has positioned itself as the largest Afro-cultural festival in Latin America, promoting the social integration and cultural richness of the country. Today it is one of the most famous and largest festivals in Cali.
Location
Alberto Galindo Sports Unit, Cra 52 #2-68, Cali, Valle del Cauca
Number of participants
320,000 visitors.
Free admission?
Yes, this festival has free access to the public.
Cultural activities and additional services
- Spaces for reflection on the culture and history of the Pacific, conversations, workshops, tributes
- Musical competitions by various groups from different regions of the Pacific
- Concerts with national and international guest artists
- Parades of the different communities that live in the Pacific
- Fashion catwalks where traditional, representative fabrics are shown
- Dining area with typical Pacific food and drinks
- Exhibition of local handicrafts
- Audiovisual examples with short films of Pacific culture
- Literature room with books and magazines
- Theatrical performances that recreate myths and legends of the Pacific
- Program for foreigners to learn more about Pacific culture
- Programming for young people to interact with emerging artists and learn about innovative proposals
Cali International Theater Festival
The Festival Internacional de Teatro de Cali is a celebration of the diversity of theater in Cali. For ten days in August, it brings together artists and visitors from different parts of the country and abroad. The festival showcases the best of local, national and international theater with live plays ranging from drama to comedy, musical genres and circus. In addition, the focus is on decentralization and inclusion, which is why the event will be held in various locations around the city, from squares to traditional theaters.
Location
Every year this festival takes place in various theaters and squares in the city. That’s why we invite you to consult the official page of the event.
Number of participants
15,000 visitors.
Free admission?
No, there are a number of costs associated with access to the festival.
Cultural activities and additional services
- Contemporary theater performances with national and international guests
- Dance performances, including ballet, classical and modern dance, folk dance
- Music concerts of various genres
- Traditional and contemporary circus shows
- Plays with puppets and marionettes
- Audiovisual examples of films or documentaries
- Theater reading through dramatized readings with unpublished or little-known theater texts
- “Performance”-like works that break conventional formats, such as improvisation
- Gastronomic areas
- Areas for purchasing books, magazines and catalogs
Macetas Festival
The Festival de Macetas is a tribute to Afro-Colombian culture and its contribution to national gastronomy. Held every year at the end of June since 2001, it brings together more than 80 producers who create pots of sweets made from panela, coconut, peanuts and other ingredients. These are formed into different shapes or figures, such as animals, fruits, flowers, etc.
The festival also offers workshops and cultural events that allow for more direct interaction with the public. A different guest country is also invited every year. Currently, according to the National Heritage Council, the Flowerpot Festival is considered an intangible cultural heritage of Cali and Valle del Cauca.
Location
The headquarters is located at La Colina de San Antonio, Calle 1#4-83, Municipality 3, Cali, Valle del Cauca. In addition to the main venue, this festival takes place in different parts of the city every year. That’s why we recommend you visit the official website.
Number of participants
More than 8,000 participants.
Free admission?
Yes, this festival is free and open to the entire public.
Cultural activities and additional services
- Historical exhibition
- Live cooking workshops
- Points of sale
- Live musical performances
- Crafts made from sugar, honey, panela, coconut, peanuts, etc.
- National and international folk-dance meeting
- Interactive virtual reality zones
- Craft pot competitions in various categories
- Opening parade with musical groups and floats decorated with flower pots
- Gastronomic fairs in the Valle del Cauca
- Craft fairs
- Discussions about Alfeñique and other traditional culinary elements
International Poetry Festival in Cali
The Festival Internacional de Poesia de Cali takes place every year from August to September with a duration of five days. Local, national and international poets participate and give recitals, poetic dialogues and concerts to promote and enrich the local and global literary scene. In addition, the festival has established itself as one of the most important in the country and Latin America due to its quality, diversity and inclusion, offering a space to meet both writers and lovers of poetry and literature.
Location
This festival takes place every year in various public places in the city of Cali, such as libraries, parks, universities, theaters and museums. That’s why we recommend you keep an eye on the official website.
Free admission?
Yes.
Cultural activities and additional services
- Workshops on creating poems
- Open lecture and theme schools on poetry
- Poetry competitions
- Educational strips with leisure and educational activities
- Poetry lectures
- Filmstrips and audiovisual projections
- Music and poetry strip with music concerts and shows
- Strips from theater performances and poetry
- Art and poetry strip with exhibitions and artistic performances
- Strip to celebrate cultural, ethnic, sexual and gender diversity through poetry
- International strip to which poets from different countries are invited
- Introduction of books and magazines with poetic literature
Sucursal Fest
Sucrusal Fest is an integrated arts festival held annually in June in Cali for three consecutive days. It offers a variety of exhibitions with cultural expressions such as music, circus, street dance, murals, art and geek culture. The festival has a wide academic, artistic, gastronomic and visual program and a wide range of international invited artists that give it added value.
Location
Parque de la Retrata or also known as Parque Paseo Bolívar, Cali, Valle del Cauca.
Free admission?
Yes, the event is free and open to the entire public.
Number of participants
About 20,000 visitors.
Cultural activities and additional services
- Live music concerts with guest artists
- Space for urban art and murals
- Urban dances such as breakdancing, popping and locking and krump
- Geek culture activities such as anime, cosplay, video games, comics, etc.
- Conversations about urban dances and social transformation
- Space for fine and visual arts
- Urban freestyle festivals with rap battles
- Workshops and lectures on comics, anime, manga, video games, etc.
- Shop and merchandising stands
- Restaurant and drinks area
- Bookstores and publishers with manga, comics, magazines and books
Mercedes Montaño National and International Meeting of Folk Dances
The Encuentro National and Internacional de Danzas Folcloricas Mercedes Montaño takes place every July. For five days, dancers from all over the country and abroad compete in categories such as regional, ethnic and contemporary dance. The event promotes the rescue and dissemination of traditional Colombian dances with more than 350 participants. The meeting has been held continuously since 1969 and is the longest-running and most important folklore competition in Latin America.
Location
- Cali Bulevar del Rio. Av Colombia #13-32, San Pedro, Cali, Valle del Cauca.
- Los Cristales open-air theater. Cra 14, Municipality 3, Cali, Valle del Cauca.
However, there are dates when the festival takes place in many other public places around the city. So, we recommend you visit the official website.
Free admission?
Yes, this event is free and open to the entire public.
Number of participants
Around 8,000 to 10,000 participants.
Cultural activities and additional services
- Opening and closing galas with national and international dance groups
- Personalized folk dance lessons and courses
- Craft fairs with typical and representative products of folk culture
- National and international folkloric expressions
- Points of sale with gastronomic tests
- Live performances of national folk dances
- Tribute to Mercedes Montaño, the “Mother of Colombian-Pacific Folklore”
- Sections with innovative proposals to combine folk dance with other artistic languages such as theater, circus, contemporary music, etc.
- Photo exhibitions and thematic audiovisual examples
Cali Distrito Moda
The Cali Distrito Moda is the most important fashion event in Cali. More than 40 national and international designers as well as various companies from different sectors of the economy are taking part. Usually, the Cali Distrito Moda takes place in June or July and lasts three days. It is the only major platform event in Cali that promotes catwalks, beauty events, art, technology and other cultural activities.
Location
The activities take place every year in different parts of Cali, such as shopping centers, hotels and cultural centers. We recommend you visit the official website.
Free admission?
Yes, this event has free access for all target groups. Please note that access to the catwalks is exclusive as they are only possible with a direct invitation from the same organization.
Number of participants
More than 25,000 visitors.
Cultural activities and additional services
- Catwalks of national and international designers
- Commercial and gastronomic areas of local entrepreneurs
- Adventure zone with regional crafts
- Live concert area
- “Showrooms” and “Trunk Shows” with exclusive collections from participating designers
- Zone of technology and innovations in the field of fashion
- Beauty section with well-known brands, makeup, hairstyle, manicure services, etc.
- Area with exhibitions of visual artists, photographers, illustrators, etc.
- Workshop area, academic spaces, conferences in design, marketing and sustainability
More about events and celebrations in Colombia
- Colombia’s 45 Best & Biggest Festivals in Detail
- How Holy Week is Celebrated in Colombia: Unmissable Traditions and Places
- Holidays in Colombia: Guide to Holidays and Long Weekend Breaks in Colombia
- 9 Unmissable Cultural Events You Must Experience in Barranquilla
- 13 Unmissable Cultural Events in the Coffee Region
- The 13 Most Popular Cultural Events in Cali
- The 9 Most Popular Cultural Events in Santa Marta
- The 9 Most Popular Cultural Events in Cartagena
- The 13 Most Popular Cultural Events in Medellin
- The 17 Most Popular Events in Bogota
- Colombia Film Culture: 8 Festivals, 7 Movies to See
- Top 16 Most Important Music Festivals in Colombia
- Gastronomic Festivals in Colombia: 6 Not to be Missed Plans
- Understand Colombia’s Nightlife: Party Like Never Before
- Unforgettable NYE in Colombia: 15 Vibrant Traditions Revealed!
- The 12 Most Celebrated Christmas Traditions in Colombia
