Festival at the Steps – A unique open–air free for all celebration

This Christmas season ushers in the feeling of festivity and fellowship in tow with the events that take place during the 4th edition of ‘Festival at the Steps’. An art and community event, open to one and all is scheduled to take place on the weekends from December 2022-January 2023. With 11 events lined up that commenced on 3rd December, the area near St. Stephen’s Steps is indeed going to be bustling with activities and cheer.

• Festival 2022-2023 Programme

For this year’s edition, the walls around the steps were renovated and there was an open call for mural artists to further uplift the design element with their art. One can visit this open space 24/7 to view the art executed by the muralists, all of whom deserve appreciation and a vote of thanks for being so generous with their time, talent, and resources. The redeveloped space in Mount Mary has played host for ‘Festival at the Steps’ over the last three years.

The much needed, appreciated and now, highly anticipated event speaks volumes about the positive impact that comes to life with robust participation of the residents of a given locality. The area where the festival takes place used to be a completely rundown garbage dump, however with the determined intentions of all parties involved, i.e. the residents as well as the administration, the place is truly transformed for the better in the present point in time. The programmes in the past have accounted for an average footfall of 350 – 500 persons per event. And some of the artists and performers from the previous editions include Rajeev Raja Combine, Neel Adhikari, Desmadre Orkesta, Zia Nath, Bijay Anand, Shehzeen Cassum Flamenco Academy, Deepmalika Kathak Institute, Sandip Sorparrkar and Institute of Classical and Modern Dance.

This year the lineup is going to be bigger and better; considering the previous year’s edition was so well received and had the audience asking for more to the extent that the festival was extended with events taking place every weekend till the end of May 2022.

This year one can look forward to diverse performances and interactive sessions such as film screenings, photo exhibitions, a weekly raffle, leading to which local businesses will get visibility for their products, and a whole host of meaningful workshops for the community. Events slated to take place include ‘AVATAAR Christmas Mela – 10th December’; ‘Make Art, Make Music – 17th December’; ‘A Little Bandra Christmas– 17th December’ & closing 2022 with ‘Twist and Sing into the New Year – 30th December’. The festival continues in 2023 with many more exciting events.

St Stephen’s Steps (the open-air venue of the festival) was declared as the Place Design Winner in the prestigious Great Places Awards 2021 – an international competition organized by The Environmental Design Research Association and Project for Public Spaces. Therefore ‘Festival at the Steps’ is much more than fun, frolic and learning, it also celebrates one’s locality and heritage. Yet, most importantly it validates the importance of activating and accentuating public spaces. 

Festival 2022-2023 Programme