What's on in Addis
Hikes, gigs, markets and meetups — curated and checked, updated regularly.
Annual Showcase — Alle School of Fine Arts and Design
Wed, Aug 26 · 12:00 PM · Alle School of Fine Arts and Design, Addis Ababa University, Arat Kilo area
The annual graduating-student exhibition of the Alle School of Fine Arts and Design, Ethiopia's foremost art school (part of Addis Ababa University), showing final works in painting, sculpture, printmaking, industrial design and interdisciplinary visual arts. A good free-form stop for visitors wanting a read on Ethiopia's emerging contemporary artists. The exhibition runs through October 16, 2026, per the announcement.
Fendika Azmari Night
Wed, Aug 26 · 9:00 PM · Fendika @ Hyatt Regency, Meskel Square
Nightly azmari sessions at Fendika, the famed Kazanchis azmari bet saved from demolition by dancer Melaku Belay and now Addis's best-known cultural venue. Azmaris are Ethiopia's traditional wandering minstrels — expect improvised, often playfully insulting sung commentary over masinko fiddle, plus eskista shoulder dancing you may be pulled into; tipping the performers is part of the tradition. On Fridays the house bands Ethiocolor or Negarit take the stage from around 8 PM.
Ashenda, Shadey & Solel Celebration with Ethiocolor
Fri, Aug 28 · 9:00 PM · Hyatt Regency Addis Ababa, Meskel Square
A hotel celebration of Ashenda, Shadey and Solel — the late-August festivals from Tigray, Amhara and northern Ethiopia in which girls and young women in braided hair and grass-skirt regalia fill the streets with song and drum-driven dance. The night is headlined by Ethiocolor, Melaku Belay's acclaimed traditional music-and-dance ensemble. Friday night from 9:00 PM at the Hyatt Regency on Meskel Square.
Afropia Dance Battle
Sat, Aug 29 · 3:00 PM · Children & Youth Theater, near Flamingo
An all-styles street-dance competition from the Afropia Dance Fest crew, pitting Addis's best crews and solo freestylers against each other live on stage. Previous editions (documented on Afropia's TikTok) drew top-16 knockout brackets mixing afro, hip-hop and Ethiopian traditional moves. Saturday from 3:00 PM at the Children & Youth Theater near Flamingo.
300 birr (tickets via Afromile)
Enkutatash — Ethiopian New Year 2019 E.C.
Fri, Sep 11 · 12:00 AM · Citywide — churches, homes and public squares across Addis Ababa
Enkutatash ('gift of jewels') is Ethiopian New Year — Meskerem 1 in the Ethiopian calendar — welcoming the year 2019 E.C. on 11 September 2026, just as the rains end and the hills turn gold with adey abeba daisies. Expect morning church services, families sharing doro wat and injera, and children singing 'Abebayehosh' door to door with bouquets of flowers; hotels and cultural restaurants across Addis put on special New Year programs. It's a public holiday, so many businesses close, and the festive buildup in markets like Shola and Merkato in the preceding days is a spectacle in itself.
Free
Meskel Demera Bonfire at Meskel Square
Sat, Sep 26 · 3:00 PM · Meskel Square, central Addis Ababa
Demera is the UNESCO-listed eve-of-Meskel bonfire ceremony: on 26 September 2026 (Meskel itself falls Sunday the 27th), hundreds of thousands fill Meskel Square as robed priests, deacons and Sunday-school choirs process with candles and chants around a giant daisy-decked pyre, which the Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church lights around sunset. It commemorates the bonfire that, in tradition, led Empress Helena to the True Cross. Arrive by mid-afternoon — the square fills hours before the roughly 6 pm lighting, security screening lines are long, and standing room near the pyre goes fast; the smoke direction the next morning is traditionally read as an omen for the year.
Free