2021, We See You: The Events We Are Looking Forward To In The New Year!

For all your budding artists, writers and lovers of all things literary, the Jaipur Literature Festival is your call to spend 4 days experiencing the best of this art form at what's considered a matter of national pride! The world's biggest annual literary event features a stellar line up of up and coming artists to experienced storytellers who have honed their craft over years -- basically, this fest brings it all together. In 2021, the festival is set to take place from 28 January to 1 February at the Diggi Palace, Jaipur. Stock up on journals and notebooks in prep for the event here!

The country's largest electronic music festival was set to happen on 27, 28, and 29 December 2020 at Vagator in Goa but has been rescheduled due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. The team however, has plans of hosting a small, safe and socially distanced Sunburn event and are in hopes to ascertain new dates for the festival very soon, hopefully sometime in 2021. Stay tuned for updates on their social media handles.

Pet Fed is India's largest pet festival (Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore) that's perfect for all you pet lovers. The festival will have a stellar line up of fun events from pet fashion shows, stage shows, adoption camps, a police dog show, cat show, product stalls, stage shows and more all in one place. In 2020 the team was forced to host a 3-day virtual event but they are hoping for larger ground events in 2021. They are also ready with a structure adhering to physical distancing norms. Keep your eyes peeled to their website for more updates. If you're a pet parent or an aspiring pet parent, we suggest you also head here for all things pet related, from all brands local!

Pop culture aficionados have had reason to celebrate every winter now, thanks to this haven that they call home for a full weekend. The very first Comic Con was held in Delhi in 2011 and since then, there’s no looking back. What really gets things going (yes, apart from the awesome merch that’s on display) is the cosplay, and boy is it fantastic! In 2020, though there were no physical Comic Con events, all interactions and sales were held online. In 2021, they hope to bring back this beloved event across all previous host cities (Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai). Dates are yet to be announced. Stay tuned to their social media handles. 

Art lovers, you get the perfect chance to explore Indian art that brings together different works from artists across the country and will exhibit work from collections across galleries, dealers and designers. Established in 2011, this art fair is one of the major contemporary art events in the city that's going to showcase both emerging and upcoming talent. In 2021, they are hosting this contemporary art fest's 10th edition in Mumbai at The Nehru Centre, from 14 to 17 January. The event will also happen in Bangalore from 15 to 18 April and in Delhi from 28 to 29 November.

Pretty colours against the gorgeous blue sky and fierce yet playful competition has made the International Kite Festival a super duper hit in the country since 1980! The festival every year is hosted in Ahmedabad and Surat and many other cities across Gujarat, ranking as one of its top celebrated events. This mega fest brings together kite enthusiasts from all over the country armed with their neat kites, and ones not just from India! Reported to have been spotted are rokkaku fighting Japanese kites, American banner kites, sculptural Italian kites, flying dragon Chinese kites and more. In 2021 the International Kite Festival will take place between 14 to 16 January.

Much looked forward to, the Bacardi NH7 Weekender made a sweet declaration for its 11th edition in 2020. A never-before-seen virtual experience that was streamed by fans across cities between 5 and 6 December. This digital edition featured an eclectic line up of musicians and also displayed an impressive bunch of interactive features. Fans were able to host virtual parties during the stream, play games, take pictures in a virtual photo-booth, and join live parties along with artists and fans! Since this was a raging success, the team can look to replicating the same in 2021, however, hopes are the festival will return to being its fun magical physical self by then. Dates have not been announced yet. 

Touted as the largest art exhibition in the country and the biggest contemporary art festival in Asia, the Kochi Muziris Biennale is a paradise of artwork exhibited by Indian and International artists across mediums: film, installation, painting, new media, sculpture and even performance art. Its 5th edition was originally to take place on 12 December 2020, but given the unexpected spike in cases in Kerala, this visual arts festival has now been postponed to 1 November 2021. 

For all you techies, tech enthusiasts and those with a curious mind who love all things science and technology, we've got one for you. Now considered to be the largest science and technology festival in Asia, Techfest is a space where you can interact with professionals in the field, attend workshops, lectures and events along with fellow technophiles. The event will be happening at IIT, Bombay as usual in 2021 but the final dates have not been announced yet. While you wait for the dates, why not come to speed in the gadget and electronics world, here.

For all of you who have only dreamt of visiting this massively popular Belgian electronic dance music festival, and for those of you worried you won't get to attend it in 2021, know that it has not been cancelled! No, it won't be a physical event, that's what makes it all the more exciting this time around! The festival is online in 2021 and it's aptly being called, 'Tomorrow Around the World', and anybody can attend Tomorrowland online on July 25 and 26. This year’s line-up includes Alan Walker, Afrojack, and Steve Akoi among others. Unlike other years, this new virtual experience has also given the team an opportunity to include webinars, and workshops regarding lifestyle, food, fashion, and more. So go on, attend it through your phone, laptop or tablet and dance away with family at home! Note: The weekend experience is going to go live from 7:30 PM to 4:30 AM IST. However, according to the organisers, Asia and North/South American attendees will have a time-zone friendly viewing option.