The 11th edition of the Malabar River Festival, an international white-water kayaking championship, will begin at Chalippuzha in the Kodenchery grama panchayat in Kozhikode on Friday (July 25, 2025).

The three-day event is being organised by the Kerala Adventure Tourism Promotion Society (KATPS) and the Kozhikode District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC), with technical support from the Indian Kayaking & Canoeing Association (IKCA) and the support of the three-tier panchayat, according to a press release.

The championship will take place on the Iruvazhinjipuzha and Chalippuzha rivers till Sunday (July 27, 2025). Linto Joseph, MLA, will inaugurate the festival at Pulikkayam at 9 a.m. District Collector Snehil Kumar Singh, district panchayat president Sheeja Sasi, grama panchayat presidents Alex Thomas Chempakassery (Kodenchery) and Bindu Johnson (Thiruvambady), elected representatives, and prominent social and political figures will attend the event.

The Olympic events, including men’s and women’s slalom and extreme slalom, will be held at Chalippuzha in Pulikkayam, while the extreme slalom final, downriver, and boater cross events will take place at Pulloorampara on the Iruvazhinjipuzha river. Tourism and Public Works Minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas will inaugurate the closing ceremony and present prizes to the winners at 5 p.m. on July 27.

As part of the festival, music performances by the Gramophone Music Band will be held at Pulikkayam at 5 p.m. on July 25, followed by performances by local artists on Saturday (July 26, 2025) and the Mersey Music Band on Sunday at Elanthakadavu.

Following the death of former Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan, the freestyle demonstration competition scheduled to be held at Meenthullippara in Chakkittapara on the Kuttiady river on Thursday (July 24, 2025) was cancelled. Kayakers from foreign countries and northern Indian States are currently training on the Chalippuzha and Iruvazhinjipuzha rivers. Pre-events were also organised in various panchayats as part of the festival’s promotion.