Overview
- Formal inaugurations for Lavanyam 2026 in Ernakulam and the Kannur district Onam week start today, Monday, with daily cultural programmes running through August 30.
- Ernakulam’s Lavanyam will stage about 40 programmes across 15 venues led from the Durbar Hall open air auditorium and will open with Sinkarimelam, Sopana Sangeetham, a fete by differently abled artists and a headline concert by Stephen Devassy.
- Kannur’s schedule, announced by MLA T. O. Mohanan, opens with a Thiruvathirakali competition and tribal art performance and features fusion nights, celebrity singers and a closing Chakyarkoothu act by Kalamandalam Abhijosh.
- Both districts weave community outreach into the festival with pookkalam and student contests, Onasadya for old age home inmates and targeted aid such as clothing distribution at Kuttampuzha Panthapra colony.
- Thiruvonam day programming on August 26 includes a Bharat Bhavan‑led cultural exchange presenting folk forms from several Indian states, a move meant to broaden audience reach and support Kerala’s wider tourism push.