Colombia welcomes today Pereira’s 2025 Harvest Festival (Fiestas de la Cosecha) as part of the celebration of the city’s 162nd anniversary. The festivities start today, Friday, August 15, and will run until August31, with a diverse program designed to captivate both locals and visitors.
Considered one of the most representative events of Colombia’s Coffee, the Harvest Festival blends culture, music, gastronomy, and rural traditions. It is held every August as part of the city’s anniversary celebrations, officially commemorated on August 30. This year’s edition will feature over 135 activities, including concerts, gastronomic fairs, sporting events, cultural exhibitions, and artistic performances, aimed at audiences of all ages. For the first time, the festival will also include the participation of the Rio de Janeiro Carnival from Brazil.
Pereira’s Harvest Festival: The Coffee Axis spirit
The Harvest Festival is an annual celebration that pays tribute to the founding of Pereira and its deep coffee-growing and farming identity. It is one of the most emblematic cultural events in the Coffee Axis region, drawing thousands of attendees each year.
Its origins date back to the mid-20th century, when the city began organizing cultural and recreational activities to honor the coffee harvest season, a period of great significance for the local economy. Over time, these festivities evolved into an official celebration tied to Pereira’s anniversary, bringing together not only the agricultural heritage of the area but also its vibrant artistic and musical traditions.
The festival celebrates the agricultural wealth of the Coffee Cultural Landscape, especially coffee, and serves as a way to give thanks for the harvest, a tradition inherited from the area’s rural heritage. It has grown into a major cultural, touristic, and economic event that attracts visitors from across Colombia and abroad.
During these days, Pereira becomes a meeting point for cultural expressions from all over the country, with delegations from the Barranquilla Carnival, the Blacks and Whites’ Carnival in Pasto, and the Flower Festival in Medellin joining the celebration to share their color, music, and joy.
One of the most anticipated moments will be the Harvest Parade, taking place on Saturday, August 16. In its second edition, it will once again feature delegations from Colombia’s most important carnivals. As a major highlight, for the first time, it will include international participation with the Rio de Janeiro Carnival from Brazil, bringing its unmistakable samba rhythms and spectacular costumes.
Highlights of the 2025 Harvest Festival program
Cultural and Gastronomic Events
August 15
International Gastronomic Festival – Plaza de Bolivar
City Tour: Historic Monuments
August 16
Grand Harvest Carnival Parade – Avenida 30 de Agosto
Comic Festival – Plaza de Bolívar (until August 18)
August 17–20
Corales Gastronomic Festival
Beer and Coffee Festival – Bulevar Circunvalar
August 19
Dancing for Pereira – Municipal Theater
August 23
Parrilla Fest – Coliseo Salomón Armel
August 24–25
Singing to Our Land – Municipal Theater
August 26
Voices of the Coffee Cultural Landscape – Municipal Theater
August 30
Super Concert – Hernán Ramírez Villegas Stadium
Official Celebration of Pereira’s Anniversary