Yerevan Festivals

Yerevan is a city full of unique charm, ancient history, sights and a lively cultural atmosphere. As the largest tourist center of Armenia, Yerevan turns into a continuous festival almost every month of the year, where tradition, modern art, music and flavors merge. Here, every street becomes a stage, and every evening an occasion to celebrate.
For a long time, dozens of festivals and events organized in the capital breathe new life into the city, making Yerevan an attractive destination for everyone, regardless of age and preferences.
This new page in the tourism profile of the capital was also formed as a result of cooperation between the Yerevan Municipality and the private sector. Among the most beloved and anticipated festivals held in Yerevan are the “Golden Apricot” International Film Festival, “Yerevan Wine Days”, the Yerevan Short Film and Book Festivals, and the Vardavar Festival.
Here you can taste wines from local grapes, watch modern films in the open air, participate in games, visit art fairs and enjoy live music. Yerevan invites everyone to live this experience, to be close to the cultural pulse of the city and to see what the city is like when it celebrates.

Yerevan Wine Days

The Yerevan Wine Days festival, which has been held in Yerevan since 2017 by EventTura, acts as an ambassador for tourism in the Republic of Armenia and one of the largest wine events in the region. The festival brings together about 100 winemakers, restaurateurs, musicians, as well as thousands of visitors from different countries of the world (in 2025, the festival registered 180 000 visitors, of which about 40% were tourists).
The festival has given new life to Armenian winemaking, creating a favorable platform for the promotion, publicity and sales of wine companies.
Providing unforgettable entertainment for wine lovers and spreading wine culture, the event also performs an educational function, which assumes the branding of the festival. The branding of the festival is based on the Armenian carafe, which is a testament to the thousand-year winemaking history of the Armenian people. The festival’s logo depicts the outline of a jug dating back to the 10th-9th centuries BC, excavated from the Dvin region, showing that Armenians have been the bearers of wine culture since ancient times.
The “Yerevan Wine Days” festival proves every year that Armenian wine is more than just a drink – it is culture, heritage, and future.

Golden Apricot International Film Festival

The Golden Apricot International Film Festival was founded in Yerevan in 2004. The festival was founded by the Golden Apricot Film Development Foundation, the Armenian Association of Film Critics and Film Journalists, with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Armenia, and the Cultural Development Charitable Foundation. It is a reflection of the history of Armenia, which has been a flashpoint for competing geopolitical forces for centuries. The festival especially welcomes films that depict various ethnic, national groups, different religions, the everyday lives of ordinary and famous people, their worries and joys.
The annual Golden Apricot International Film Festival presents the rich human experience of different nations, ethnic and religious groups to the audience through multi-genre films. Films are presented in two international competition programs: feature and documentary. One Golden Apricot main prize and one special prize are awarded in each competition category.
For a week, the Armenian and international film festival has been gathering film industry figures and film lovers in the capital.

Yerevan International Book Festival

The Yerevan International Book Festival is the largest literary event in the book publishing sector in Armenia. It was launched in 2017 at the initiative of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of the Republic of Armenia, as a platform that unites all participants in the literary sphere. Since 2023, the Yerevan Municipality has been the main sponsor of the Yerevan Book Festival. In the same year, the Festival gained international significance by joining the largest poetry platform “Versopolis” of the European Union’s “Creative Europe” program, which aims to support the development of literature throughout Europe.
The Yerevan International Book Festival is attended by more than 250 writers and international distinguished guests, book critics, more than 50 publishers, more than 12 000 books are sold, more than 40 events are held, and more than 30 000 visitors participate. The Book Festival takes place on September 5-7 at the Republic Square, at the History Museum of Armenia and the National Gallery of Armenia.
As one of the largest literary festivals and cultural platforms in Armenia, the Yerevan International Book Festival is a celebration of the spread of literature and culture, dialogue, and knowledge.

“Vardavar”
Transfiguration Feast

Vardavar, the Feast of the Transfiguration of Christ, is the third of the five great feasts of the Armenian Apostolic Church. It is celebrated 98 days after the feast of the Holy Resurrection, Easter.
The holiday is associated with the episode in the New Testament of the Bible, which describes how Jesus Christ, along with the apostles St. Peter, St. James and St. John, ascends Mount Tabor to pray. During the prayer, Jesus is transfigured before them.
On the occasion of the holiday, a Divine Liturgy is served in all Armenian Apostolic churches. In the churches of Yerevan, it begins at 11 am.
The holiday is also known among the Armenian people as Vardavar. This holiday has pre-Christian roots dating back to the times of the global flood. According to tradition, one year after descending from the ark on the top of Ararat, the patriarch Noah sprinkled water on his family members and ordered them to do so every year so that they would never forget the flood and live a life pleasing to God.
Vardavar is a holiday of joy, song and dance, rich in beautiful traditions and water games. Ethnographic materials tell us that early in the morning, women would tie flowers, apples, small cucumbers and roses on threads, cross-tie them to the chests of their children and take them to church. Just as the first grapes are eaten on the feast of the Transfiguration (Blessing of the Fruit), the first apples of the year are eaten on Vardavar, since it is customary to observe an apple fast before Vardavar.
Vardavar events usually begin on the eve of the holiday, with a festive procession starting from the St. Sargis Church, the seat of the Ararat Patriarchal Diocese, which has become a good tradition in recent years.
The participants of the festive procession march with national songs and dances to the Children's Park of the capital, where the main festive event takes place. The procession is led by figures symbolizing the patriarch Noah and his family members. Numerous Yerevan residents and tourists also join them on the way.
During the event organized in the Children's Park, ethnographic games and rituals in keeping with the spirit of the holiday are presented, including roasting apples and distributing ears of corn.
At all times, one of the important conditions of this holiday has been sprinkling water on each other. In ancient times, especially young people gathered near rivers, streams or springs and sprinkled water on each other for hours with joyful jokes, screams and noise.
On the occasion of this national church holiday, the Yerevan Municipality organizes events every year, which start early in the morning with a parade of water sprinklers. The cars also circulate in the courtyards and streets of the administrative districts of the capital, supplying the necessary amount of water to the participants of the Vardavar water games.
The most crowded event dedicated to the Vardavar holiday, according to the already established tradition, takes place at the Swan Lake in the capital. Yerevan Municipality provides all the conditions for fun water games and unforgettable entertainment here. This is so popular that in order to participate, tourists often organize their visit in such a way that they definitely participate in the fun water games. The fun event is accompanied by rhythmic music, which provides a “crazy” atmosphere of entertainment.

Yerevan Fashion Week

Yerevan Fashion Week brings together Armenian and international designers, leading industry professionals, influential guests and fashion lovers under one roof. The Fashion and Clothing Chamber of Armenia, together with the Yerevan Municipality, international and local partners, is holding the annual Yerevan Fashion Week event from October 2023, with the aim of developing Armenian fashion and making it recognizable on global platforms, and gradually placing Yerevan among the cities hosting fashion weeks. During the impressive events, shows, exhibitions and other creative projects, designers showcase their new collections, and visitors will have the opportunity to participate in individual brand shows, fashion expos, thematic discussions and exhibitions. YFW is covered by the best international and local fashion media: Vogue, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, BBC, Le Mile, Fucking Young, White Milano, Tranoi, etc.

Yerevan Beer Festival

“I did not say it, Xenophon said it”, 401 BC.

Back in the 5th century BC, the Greek historian Xenophon, passing through the provinces of Taron and Tsopk in the Armenian Highlands, tasted a unique drink made from barley for the first time. He describes what he saw in detail in the book “Anabasis”, telling: “There they kept wheat, barley, vegetables and wine made from barley in vats. Barley grains floated on the surface of the wine, and large and small reeds were placed in it. When someone was thirsty, he would take one of these reeds, put it to his mouth and drink the wine. The drink itself was quite pure, if not diluted with water, and quite pleasant, if a person was already accustomed to it.”
This is considered one of the oldest written evidence of beer being on Armenian soil. Thousands of years later, this testimony reminds us today that beer is not just a drink for Armenians; it is history, culture, and the art of unification.
The “Beer Days” festival has become an integral part of Yerevan’s summer cultural life and one of the city’s most anticipated holidays. The event aims to popularize Armenian brewing, promote event tourism, and provide an opportunity for local producers to present themselves to a wide audience. Dozens of brewing companies, from large producers to small craft breweries, present their best and most innovative products. To pair with beer, food stalls are located throughout the festival grounds, where visitors can discover the best combinations of both traditional Armenian dishes and international cuisine.
“Beer Days” is not just a tasting opportunity. It is a complete experience with concerts, live music, themed games, and competitions. In special interactive zones, visitors participate in various games and contests, earn stamps and win gifts from the event’s participating partners. All this creates a variety of emotions and memories for visitors for the whole year.
Since 2021, the festival has been expanding its scale year after year and continues to attract a wider audience. It is not only an entertainment event, but also a means of publicizing Armenia’s brewing heritage, which strengthens the country’s position on the regional event tourism map.