This festival is celebrated every year in the month of May-June when the valleys of Shimla are most alive. This five-day event is full of cultural programs, folk dances, handicraft exhibitions, fashion shows, music and food stalls. Its purpose is to promote local culture, tourism and artists. Tourists and local people participate in it enthusiastically. This festival is a celebration of the dignity and cultural diversity of Shimla.
This festival is held in December or January during the snowfall season. The purpose of the Winter Carnival is to promote winter tourism. It includes skiing, snow boarding, snow man competition, and folk dance-music performances. Local artists and students get an opportunity to showcase their talent. Snow-covered valleys and markets decorated with lights make it a magical experience.
Dussehra is celebrated with great enthusiasm in the areas around Shimla. Dussehra of Kullu and Shimla has its own identity. On this day, effigies of Ravana, Meghnath and Kumbhkarna are burnt, which symbolizes the victory of good over evil. Folk dances, tableaux and Ramlila are an important part of this festival. This festival is a symbol of religious faith as well as social unity.
Lohri festival is celebrated with great pomp in Himachal Pradesh and especially in Shimla. It is celebrated a day before Makar Sankranti and reflects the joy of harvest. People light a bonfire and sing traditional songs around it, dance and worship the fire by putting peanuts, revdi, sesame. This festival is a symbol of new energy, unity and gratitude towards nature. This day is considered very auspicious especially for newly married and newborn babies.
