10-day Hornbill Festival to begin in Nagaland from December 1

The 10-day Hornbill Festival in Nagaland is set to begin from Sunday amid much fanfare, state tourism minister Temjen Imna Along announced on Friday.
The 10-day annual festival which is designed to promote, preserve and showcase the state’s rich cultural heritage, will begin on Sunday evening after the 62nd Nagaland statehood day celebration in capital Kohima.
The 25th edition of the festival will showcase a collaborative cultural experience with the United States of America (USA), United Kingdom (Wales), Japan and Peru as country partners while Sikkim and Telangana will be the partner states.
“It has become a festival where we not only enjoy and curate our unique culture and traditions, our way of life, food, art and crafts, but also it has become a focal point for the networking of people,” the minister said.
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The Hornbill Festival also marks the culmination of the different Naga tribal festivals held around the agricultural calendar.
It promotes the diverse Naga ethnicity and brand Nagaland through traditional art, food, dances, music, tribal rituals and indigenous games, craft highlighting Naga textiles and designs among various other Naga experiences.
The festival attracts tourists from across India and abroad.
In 2023, the state tourism department recorded 1.5 lakh footfall at the main festival site- the Naga Heritage Village Kisama, which is 12km from capital Kohima.
The ten-day cultural and tourism extravaganza also includes various events spread across different districts in the state.