The second day of Autumn Festival witnessed a large crowd turnout to celebrate the festival, which is a prelude to the 25th edition of Hornbill Festival 2024. It is being held at Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Road, Nagaland House, New Delhi which began on 18th October 2024.

Advisor to Chief Minister & Chairman IDAN, Abu Metha, speaking as the chief guest stated that the Autumn Festival is a curtain raiser of the Hornbill Festival and it aspires to reach out to different sections of people in the national capital and other parts of the country to visit the Hornbill Festival. He highlighted the history of the Hornbill Festival and stated that it is not just the State’s flagship event but has become one of India’s biggest and well-known festivals across the world. He also mentioned that this year one of the Country Partner will be the Country of Wales, United Kingdom.

The three-day festival which began on 18th October will go on till 20th October. It is organized by the Department of Tourism, Government of Nagaland in collaboration with the Resident Commissioner’s Office, Nagaland House, New Delhi with support from the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. The programme will begin at 4:00 PM on 20th October 2024 and is open to the public.

Festival goers can enjoy Naga cuisines, traditional brewed sticky rice beer (zutho), enjoy music, shop from a wide collection of Naga jewelry, textiles, and handicrafts. A group of local artisans from Noklak are also present to demonstrate the weaving of bamboo baskets and wooden handicrafts.

Resident Commissioner, Nagaland House, New Delhi, Wennyei Konyak, delivered the welcome address. Ao Naga Choir and Delhi Eastern Naga Students’ Union performed songs at the event. A fashion show on Naga indigenous modern wear by Kintem was also presented.