Onam 2026 in Singapore: Full Calendar of Events, Dates & What to Expect
- Gineesh Madapparambath
- Community
- July 4, 2026
Introduction
Onam season in Singapore has grown into a packed calendar spanning three months, ten-plus organisations, and everything from formal concerts at the Esplanade to neighbourhood sadya feasts at community clubs. If you’re Malayalee in Singapore, chances are one of these events is happening in your neighbourhood. Here’s a rundown of what’s confirmed for August to October 2026, based on the schedule circulating among the community associations, plus context from past editions of each event.
Table of Contents
Note
Some 2026 details (exact venues, ticket prices, guest lists) are still being finalised by the organisers at the time of writing. Where we don’t have confirmed 2026 specifics, we’ve drawn on the most recent past edition to give you a sense of what to expect. Always check the organising body’s own Facebook, Instagram or website closer to the date for the final word.
This article was originally published in rovervibes.com
August
1 Aug - Noah Onam
Kicking off the season is Noah Onam, a smaller community celebration that typically brings together members for a cultural programme and traditional sadya. Details for the 2026 edition are expected to be shared closer to the date via the organising group’s own channels.
8 Aug - SMA Onam Nite
The Singapore Malayalee Association’s marquee concert night is usually the first big-ticket event of the season. Past editions have been staged at the Esplanade Concert Hall, running for a few hours with a mix of music, dance and mimicry. Last year’s Onam Nite featured a live orchestral performance by veteran Malayalam film composer Ouseppachan, alongside mimicry artistes and dance items by local performers from the School of Fine Arts. Expect a similarly star-studded line-up, with SMA typically bringing in a well-known Kerala film personality or musician as the headline act.
Website | Facebook | Instagram
15 Aug - NBKL Ona Ravu 25
Naval Base Kerala Library’s Ona Ravu is one of the oldest running Onam shows in Singapore, tracing its roots back to open-air celebrations at the Naval Base Padang in the 1950s and 60s. Now staged at major venues like the Esplanade, Victoria Theatre, Kallang Theatre and the Singapore Expo, Ona Ravu showcases local Malayalee talent alongside visiting artistes from Kerala, and traditionally includes the presentation of the Simhapuri Award to a notable Malayalam film personality. Past recipients include Jayaram, Mukesh, Siddique and Jagadish. NBKL marked its 70th anniversary edition with a headline performance by singer G. Venugopal in 2025; this year’s edition should bring similarly recognised names to the stage.
Website | Facebook | Instagram
16 Aug - Kairalee Onam
Organised by Singapore Kairalee Kala Nilayam (SKKN), one of the oldest Malayalee cultural organisations in Singapore (founded in 1956), Kairalee Onam is typically a full-day, family-friendly affair at a community club. The 2025 edition at Braddell Heights Community Club ran free cultural programmes throughout the day, including Thiruvathira performances, a beauty pageant, kabaddi and tug-of-war, a cooking contest, and a drawing contest for kids, capped off with an Onasadya feast (tickets were $20-25). Expect a similar format for 2026, with advance registration usually required for the competition segments.
Website | Facebook | Instagram
22 Aug - SMA Youth Event (Fireside Chat)
Organised by the SMA Youth Wing, this is a more intimate, conversation-style event aimed at younger members of the community, continuing the wing’s programme of career talks, mentorship sessions and cultural discussions held throughout the year.
Website | Facebook | Instagram
23 Aug - KALA Onam
Kerala Art Lovers Association (KALA Singapore), founded in 2011, runs its own Onam Fiesta each year, usually at a heartland community club. In 2025 the event moved to Hong Kah North Community Club (its usual home is Hougang CC) and drew over 650 attendees for a day of pookkalam, music, dance and food, along with performances from KALA’s in-house band Aarpo. The association is known for keeping its Onam celebrations open to the wider (non-Malayalee) neighbourhood community as well.
30 Aug - SNM Guru Jayanthi
Sree Narayana Mission (Singapore) marks Guru Jayanthi, its signature annual event commemorating the birth anniversary of social reformer Sree Narayana Guru. The celebration typically includes prayers, a cultural show, presentation of education awards to tertiary students, and an “Anadanam” community lunch of traditional Kerala vegetarian dishes served on banana leaf, cooked by SNM’s own members and volunteers.
Website | Facebook | Instagram
September
6 Sep - SMA Onam Village
SMA’s larger, open-to-all Onam Village complements its ticketed Onam Nite concert. Past editions (most recently at MPC@Khatib) have run as a full-day outdoor community fair from morning to evening, featuring a Singapore Malayalee heritage exhibition, rangoli/pookalam displays, science exhibits for schoolchildren, and an Onam sadya, with SMA framing it explicitly as a platform to bring the wider Singapore community into the celebrations, not just Malayalees.
Website | Facebook | Instagram
12 Sep - 2026 SHMS 100 Years Celebration
This is the big one for the season: the Singapore Malayalee Hindu Samajam (SMHS), founded in March 1926, turns 100 in 2026. SMHS is one of the oldest registered societies in Singapore, originally formed to support destitute Malayalees in the community, and has since become known for its Makara Vilakku prayers and the Hindu Samajam Temple. A centenary celebration of this scale typically draws senior guests of honour and includes a commemorative souvenir or booklet charting the organisation’s century-long history alongside a cultural programme.
Website | Facebook | Instagram
13 Sep - Teck Ghee CC Onam (AMK)
A community-level celebration held in the Teck Ghee division of Ang Mo Kio, organised in partnership with the local grassroots organisations and Teck Ghee Community Club as part of its wider calendar of multicultural festivals for residents.
Teck Ghee CC on onePA | Facebook (Teck Ghee)
20 Sep - Onam with Sakhi Group (MDWs)
Sakhi is actually one of SMA’s own interest groups, dedicated to migrant domestic workers (MDWs) in Singapore. It runs training programmes to build their skills for current and future roles, alongside welfare support. This Onam event extends the festival to that community, giving Malayalee domestic workers a cultural programme and sadya of their own.
26-27 Sep - SMA Heritage Event
Building on the heritage exhibition that has featured at SMA’s other Onam programmes, this dedicated two-day event is expected to showcase the Singapore Malayalee community’s history in more depth, likely drawing on the archival material SMA has been compiling around its own century-plus history (the association was founded in 1917).
October
2-4 Oct - Varnam 2026 (Art Exhibition)
Varnam is SMA’s flagship annual art showcase, and by 2026 should be entering roughly its 13th edition. The 2025 edition (the 12th) ran from 10 to 12 October at The Arts House as part of Singapore’s SG60 celebrations, bringing together around 24 artists from Singapore and abroad working across acrylic, oil and mixed media, with the gallery open daily from 10am to 8pm. Expect 2026 to follow a similar format: a multi-day, free-to-visit exhibition open to both Malayalee and non-Malayalee artists, held at a central Singapore arts venue.
Varnam (SMA Interest Group) | Facebook | Instagram
Planning to Attend?
A few general tips that apply across most of these events:
- Sadya tickets sell out. Community club-hosted events (Kairalee Onam, KALA Onam) typically cap sadya numbers and sell tickets in advance, so register early if food is the priority.
- Concert-style events (SMA Onam Nite, NBKL Ona Ravu) are ticketed and held at larger venues like the Esplanade or Singapore Expo, while village/fiesta-style events are usually free to attend for the cultural programme.
- Follow the organisers directly for the final word on venues and timings: SMA, NBKL, Kairalee Kala Nilayam, KALA Singapore, SNM and SMHS all post updates on Facebook and Instagram closer to each event (links above).
Happy Onam, Singapore!