Nairobi Events Calendar: What Happens Each Month of the Year

Nairobi's event calendar has a rhythm to it. Some of it is set by public holidays, some by the weather, some by the school calendar and the diaspora's travel, and a lot of it by the fact that organizers plan around all three. If you know the rhythm you can plan a weekend, a visit, or an event of your own around it.

For what is actually on sale in any given month, the Nairobi events page groups everything by month, and the Kenya-wide events page does the same for the whole country. This guide is the evergreen shape of the year.

January

The city is quiet for the first week as people drift back from the coast and upcountry, then it picks up. Late January is when Nairobi's restaurant and food scene has its moment, with the annual restaurant week promotions usually running into February. Concerts are thin; day parties and outdoor events start again as the dry weather settles in. If you are an organizer, January is the cheapest month to book a venue.

February

Valentine's weekend is the anchor: dinners, couples' events, R&B and rhumba nights, and at least one big love-themed concert. The weather is at its best — hot, dry, clear — and it is one of the better months for outdoor daytime events. The Magical Kenya Open golf tournament usually lands around this time and brings its own hospitality calendar.

March

The long rains typically arrive towards the end of the month. Early March is still good for outdoor events; by the last week, organizers are hedging. This is when the year's first festivals tend to appear on sale, even if they are scheduled for later.

April

Easter is the first big long weekend of the year and Nairobi treats it as such: four days of concerts, festivals and day parties, with a lot of the city heading to the coast (see our Mombasa guide) and organizers following them. The rest of April is wet. Covered venues do well; open grounds are a gamble.

May

Labour Day on 1 May is a smaller holiday weekend, useful for a party or two. The long rains are usually tailing off by the end of the month. Mid-year concerts start being announced for June and July.

June

Madaraka Day on 1 June opens the month with a long weekend and a set of holiday concerts and festivals. Eid moves around the calendar and, when it falls here, adds another. The weather turns cold and grey — June and July are Nairobi's coldest months — so the calendar tilts towards indoor shows, comedy, theatre and daytime events that finish before the temperature drops.

July

School holidays in July and August fill the calendar with family events, kids' festivals and daytime activities. It is also the peak of the cold season: bring a layer to anything outdoors after 5 pm. Nightlife carries on regardless.

August

Still school holidays, warming up slightly, and the second half of the month is when the run-up to the busy season begins. Festivals with a September or October date go on sale, and early-bird tiers are the ones to catch. Diaspora visitors start arriving for the northern-hemisphere summer, which brings a wave of "diaspora edition" parties and reunion-style events.

September

A dry, pleasant month that organizers like. The Nairobi International Trade Fair at Jamhuri Park usually runs around the end of September into October and is a week-long event in its own right. September is also when the December calendar starts to be announced, so it is the month to buy early-bird tickets for the shows you already know you want.

October

Mashujaa Day on 20 October anchors the busiest weekend outside December: concerts, festivals, cultural events and day parties all cluster on it. Oktoberfest-style beer events run through the month, the Nairobi marathon usually falls in late October, and the short rains typically start in the second half. Cultural and lifestyle festivals such as Korom Festival have taken an October slot.

November

The short rains are at their heaviest and the calendar thins a little — but only because everyone is saving their energy and their money for December. Announcements come thick and fast. If a December show has an early-bird tier, this is when it sells out.

December

The month the whole year builds towards. Jamhuri Day on 12 December opens a three-week run through Christmas and New Year's Eve. The diaspora is home, companies hold end-of-year parties, schools are out, and most of the year's biggest concerts, festivals and headline shows are scheduled into it. There are events every day of the week, prices are at their highest, and the good ones sell out. A large share of the city also heads to the coast between Christmas and New Year, which is why Mombasa, Kilifi, Watamu and Diani have their own December calendar.

Practical December advice: buy early-bird tickets in November, book transport for New Year's Eve in advance, and expect anything on the coast to be double the Nairobi price.

The public holidays that shape the year

• 1 January — New Year's Day
• Good Friday and Easter Monday — moveable
• 1 May — Labour Day
• 1 June — Madaraka Day
• Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha — moveable
• 20 October — Mashujaa Day
• 12 December — Jamhuri Day
• 25 and 26 December — Christmas Day and Boxing Day

When a holiday falls on a Thursday or Tuesday, the events still cluster on the nearest weekend, and a Monday holiday produces a three-day run of Saturday, Sunday and Monday events.

The weather, in one paragraph

Long rains from roughly March to May. Short rains from roughly October to November, sometimes into early December. Cold and grey in June and July. Hot and dry in January, February and September. Outdoor events run all year, but the dry months are when the grounds at Ngong Racecourse, Uhuru Gardens and Carnivore see the most use.

Seeing what is on sale for any month

The Nairobi events page lists everything on sale grouped by month, so you can see today what is already selling for December. For the whole country, use the Kenya events page. For what to do with a weekend that is already here, start with things to do in Nairobi this weekend.