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Irreecha Thanksgiving Festival — Hora Finfinne
Ended ·Sat, Oct 3 · 12:00 PM · Hora Finfinne, around Peacock Park / Bole area lakeshore, Addis Ababa
Irreecha is the Oromo people's great thanksgiving, marking the end of the rainy season: millions dressed in dazzling cultural attire dip fresh grass and daisies into the sacred waters of Hora Finfinne in gratitude to Waaqa (God). The Addis Ababa celebration is traditionally held on the Saturday, with the historic main gathering at Hora Harsadi in Bishoftu the following day. Rituals start early in the morning; roads around the site close and crowds are enormous, so go at first light with a local guide if possible. Note: the 2026 date is still an estimate based on the festival's late-September/early-October pattern (2025 was Oct 4-5) — confirm locally closer to the date.
Free
Meskel Demera Bonfire at Meskel Square
Ended ·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
Enkutatash — Ethiopian New Year 2019 E.C.
Ended ·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
Anicon 2018 — Anime Convention
Ended ·Sun, Sep 6 · 11:00 AM · WeVenture Hub, near Dembel City Center
Valeria Events' anime convention named for the Ethiopian year 2018: anime game show, cosplay, manga exhibition and merch stalls, timed for the last weekend before Ethiopian New Year.
399–599 ETB (early bird / waves)
Creative Minds: Art for Social Change
Ended ·Thu, Sep 3 · 4:00 PM · Hilton Hotel
A gathering exploring the role of art in driving social movement and impact, featuring panel speakers and moderation by notable local creatives.
Cinema Reframed Through Conversation — Club 5 to 7 x The Table
Ended ·Sat, Aug 29 · 5:00 PM · Sifra Alternative Space
An early-evening film screening and guided discussion at an alternative art space near Arat Kilo, hosted by the Club 5 to 7 cinema collective with The Table.
Free
Musical Karaoke — Sing Broadway Hits at Zemen Cinema
Ended ·Sat, Aug 29 · 4:00 PM · Zemen Cinema (Adwa/Zemen Cinema), Flamingo
An afternoon of sing-along songs from musicals — Hamilton, The Greatest Showman, Epic: The Musical and more — presented by Harmony Hub at Zemen Cinema.
200 ETB (3 USD)
Afropia Dance Battle
Ended ·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)
Ashenda, Shadey & Solel Celebration with Ethiocolor
Ended ·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.
ADB All Style Championship feat. Atse Krump
Ended ·Fri, Aug 28 · 6:00 PM · Children & Youth Theater (Flamingo)
A street-dance battle across styles with krump crew Atse Krump headlining — the night before the Afropia Dance Battle at the same theater.
Way In // Way Out — Art Exhibition at the Italian Cultural Institute
Ended ·Fri, Aug 28 · 9:30 AM · Italian Cultural Institute (Istituto Italiano di Cultura), Piassa
A free art exhibition running August 28 to September 2 at the Italian Cultural Institute in Piassa, open from 9:30 AM on weekdays.
Free
Deep Listening: Tamikrest – Assikel (album session & Q&A)
Ended ·Thu, Aug 27 · 7:00 PM · Social Addis Rooftop
A phone-free listening session of Assikel, the new album by Malian-Algerian Tuareg desert-rock band Tamikrest, played in full on the Social Addis rooftop and followed by a video Q&A with the band.
100 ETB
Fendika Azmari Night
Ended ·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.
Annual Showcase — Alle School of Fine Arts and Design
Ended ·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.
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