About the Nakuru City Festival
Welcome to the first edition of the Nakuru City Festival, the #NakuruFestival2025! This will be a vibrant, city-wide celebration of culture, creativity, food, enterprise, sport, and community pride. The Nakuru City Festival 2025 takes place from November 26 to December 1, 2025, featuring exciting parades to usher in the festive mood.
This will transform Nakuru city into a living stage, with streets lined with colour, music drifting across public squares, tasty cuisine at every corner, athletes racing past iconic landmarks, and artisans turning everyday corners into galleries. If you’re looking for the ultimate end-of-year experience, blending arts, sports, food, tech, and the breathtaking beauty of Nakuru, mark your calendar now for the first-ever edition of the #NakuruFestival2025.
Backed by the visionary county leadership under Governor Susan Kihika, the festival celebrates a city on the rise: diverse, dynamic, and open to the world. Recognised by UNESCO as Kenya and East Africa’s first Creative City in Crafts & Folk Arts, Nakuru is where tradition and modern expression meet.
At the Nakuru Festival, you’ll feel that fusion everywhere: in the fashion runways that mix beadwork with streetwear, in film screenings that spotlight local stories, in innovation showcases that put creative tech in your hands, and in the warm hospitality that makes everyone, from toddlers to seasoned travellers, feel right at home.
Why Nakuru? Why Now?
Nakuru is a city built on movement and meeting. It sits at the crossroads of Kenya, a place where more than 30 ethnic communities have lived, traded, and shared culture for generations. The result is a welcoming cosmopolitan vibe, a bold creative spirit, and a thriving business ecosystem.
From the flamingo-lined shores of Lake Nakuru National Park to the sweeping views from Menengai Crater, your festival days flow from natural wonder to urban energy and back again. Coupled with the city’s growing creative industries, its friendly social buzz, and a packed festival program, you’ve got an unmissable week.
Whether you’re a visitor seeking an authentic Kenyan city experience, a family planning a fun-filled weekend, an athlete hungry for a new challenge, or a creator looking to network and be inspired, #NakuruFestival2025 is designed for you.
@nakurufestival Welcome to the Nakuru City Festival 2025 #nakurufestival2025 2025 #nakurutiktokers
A City-Wide Stage with Venues You’ll Love
The magic of the Nakuru City Festival is that it permeates the entire city. Each venue offers a unique atmosphere, and together they form a colourful circuit that lets you explore, discover, and return for more:
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Nyayo Gardens – The main festival grounds: home to the opening ceremony, headline performances, live art, and daily showcases. Think music, food courts, pop-up craft shops, interactive zones, and that unmistakable “festival village” energy.
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Select City Streets – Parade routes, umbrella canopy streets, street media shows, street dancing, car-free street days, and playful activations. This is where Nakuru’s creativity spills into daily life.
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Afraha Stadium & Afraha Annexe Ground – The pulse of sport and athletics: from the Nakuru City Marathon to games and tournaments. Expect cheering crowds, personal bests, and a champion’s finish line.
@nakurufestival Get ready for the ultimate celebration at the Nakuru City Festival 2025 🎉 – with Afraha Stadium as one of the main venues bringing culture, fun, and entertainment to life! 🌍🎶 #NakuruFestival2025 #nakurutiktokers
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Nakuru Players Theatre – The dramatic heart: plays, spoken word, comedy nights, acrobatic shows, and theatre performances that turn stories into living moments.
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Old Town Hall – A heritage space for talks, policy launches, innovation meetups, and cultural dialogues—where ideas take centre stage.
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Menengai Crater – A natural amphitheatre for outdoor lovers: morning hikes, guided nature walks, and the kind of views that make you whisper “wow.”
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Other City Hubs – Cultural centres, parks, and pop-ups hosting art markets, kids’ activities, film screenings, tech demos, and more.
This venue-as-city approach is a significant reason the Nakuru Festival experience feels so immersive, with every stroll becoming a discovery, and every corner, a surprise.
The Program: Six Days, Dozens of Ways to Celebrate
We’ve curated a program that is as diverse as Nakuru itself, blending culture, sports, food, film, fashion, innovation, and community events so that no one is left out. Highlights include:
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Culture & Performance:
Cultural dances, cultural night, traditional and modern fashion shows, spoken word, rap battles, comedy night, street dancing, acrobatic shows, contemporary dance competitions, Zumba, Kizomba and Salsa socials. -
Visual Arts & Film:
Live drawing, painting & murals, sculpture, photo exhibitions, photography walks, movie shows, cartoon/animation screenings, and a Matatu Culture Showcase that brings creativity to life. -
Sport & Outdoor:
Nakuru City Marathon, bike racing, morning hikes (including the famous Menengai Crater expedition), rugby game, chess & bao competitions, pool table tournament, ball-dribbling skills, skating competitions, and more. -
Food & Family:
Traditional cuisine food festival, children’s carnival, kids’ fun zones (bounce castles, puppet shows), bonfire storytelling, and community-friendly gatherings built for laughter and connection. -
Innovation & Enterprise:
Youth in Tech & Creativity Expo, fashion-tech, crafts & beading market, herbal medicine displays, vehicle branding, motor show, business exhibitions and a Street Media Show that proves content can be a street-level art. -
Conferences & Policy:
The African Creative Cities Conference, featuring sessions on cultural diplomacy, youth & women’s empowerment, sustainable creative markets, digital tools, and climate action, plus the launch of the Nakuru Creative & Cultural Industry Policy, signalling a forward-looking ecosystem for creators and investors. -
Digital & Social:
Live TikTok Challenges, a 360-photo booth, city-wide selfie frames, and content moments around every corner. If you’re a creator, bring extra storage; if you’re a brand, consider an activation; if you’re a fan, get ready to go viral with #NakuruFestival2025. -
Community & Environment:
Tree planting, city cleanups, inclusive programming with schools and colleges, and platforms for youth mentorship—because a great festival also builds a great city.
And that’s just the top layer. The daily schedule spans multiple venues, allowing you to set your own pace: go all-in on marathon morning, unwind with a film, sample a new dish, and finish under the lights at Nyayo Gardens as you watch the bodybuilders in action.
For Visitors, Tourists, Families & Athletes
Tourists & Nature Lovers: Start your day with a sunrise view from Menengai Crater as you hike, explore Lake Nakuru National Park for flamingos and wildlife, then weave your way back into the city for shows, markets, and music. Nakuru is compact, welcoming, and full of “one more stop” temptations.
Families & Young Kids: The Nakuru City Festival is designed with family comfort in mind: clear venue signage, kid-friendly activity windows, and safe, lively public spaces. Children’s fun zones, puppet shows, animation screenings, and friendly strolls make it a dream weekend.
Sports & Athletics Enthusiasts: The Nakuru City Marathon and a slate of tournaments turn the city into your arena. Whether you’re racing, spectating, or cheering from the sidelines, expect professional organisation, supportive crowds, and gorgeous course visuals.
Students & Youth Creators: From college talent shows to tech & creativity expos, from TikTok challenges to mentorship opportunities, Nakuru festival fuels career paths and personal expression. Come to learn, collaborate, and be seen.
Foodies & Culture Buffs: A food festival of traditional cuisines meets modern flavour, and a crafts market where beadwork, textiles, and handmade goods tell stories you can take home. Nakuru Festival is where heritage finds new style.
Brands & Investors: With exhibition zones, sponsorship options, and B2B networking built into the program, the festival offers visibility and relationships that last well beyond closing night. This is a city investing in the creative economy—and inviting partners to grow with it.
Powered by a Vision, Leadership & Legacy
Strong festivals have strong backbones. Governor Susan Kihika and the County Government of Nakuru are committed to building an inclusive, future-ready, and creative ecosystem that benefits artisans, SMEs, youth, and international partners. That commitment is evident in safety planning, accessibility, sustainability, and policy frameworks that foster creativity. The Nakuru Creative & Cultural Industry Policy (2025) and the African Creative Cities Conference are more than side events; they’re anchor points for long-term impact.
The result is a festival with both heart and horizon—joy in the moment, and a lasting boost for culture, tourism, and enterprise.
Your Festival, Your Flow
Every day of #NakuruFestival2025 offers many ways to participate:
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Watch: Parades, runways, dance battles, theatre, comedy, fireworks, and live art happening all around you.
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Do: Join a fitness class, step into a dance circle, try an art workshop, or submit your film to a pop-up screening.
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Taste: Sample Kenyan classics and regional specialities. Discover new vendors. Find your new favourite snack.
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Connect: Meet makers, athletes, mentors, investors, fellow fans, and future collaborators.
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Give Back: Volunteer for cleanups or tree planting, support youth showcases, and share your skills.
Bring comfortable shoes, a sense of curiosity, and a charged phone, because in Nakuru, every street is a story.
@nakurufestival
Plan Your Week
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Dates: 26 November – 1 December 2025
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Start Time Day 1: 6:00 AM (Opening Day at Nyayo Gardens)
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Key Venues: Nyayo Gardens (main grounds), select city streets, Afraha Stadium & Afraha Annexe Ground, Nakuru Players Theatre, Old Town Hall, Menengai Crater, and cultural hubs across the city.
Follow official updates, maps, and daily schedules on our website and social channels. For creators, vendors, and sponsors, look out for calls to participate. Nakuru City Festival is built with you in mind, and for you.
Be Part of It
If you’ve heard of “Kenyan warmth,” you’ll feel it here. If you’ve dreamed of a festival that treats the whole city as a canvas, you’ll find it here. And if you’re seeking a moment to reconnect with art, nature, and community—this is the week.
Nakuru Festival—Nakuru City Festival—is one of a kind, and not to be missed. Join us for #NakuruFestival2025, where the Great Rift Valley hums with colour, rhythm, and possibility. Come for the views, stay for the vibe, and leave with a story only Nakuru can tell.
Karibu Nakuru. Karibu Festival.