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Events in Penang — April 2026

Festivals, markets, and cultural celebrations happening this month

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5 Events in April

Ching Ming — Tomb Sweeping Festival
Free Entry
Festival

Ching Ming — Tomb Sweeping Festival

📅 When:April 4–5 (15th day after spring equinox)
📍 Where:Penang Hill Road Cemetery, Air Itam Cemetery, Bukit Gombak (and other Chinese cemeteries)

Ching Ming (Tomb Sweeping Festival) falls on April 4-5 each year. In Penang, Chinese and Peranakan families fill the hilltop cemeteries to clean ancestral graves and share offerings — a solemn and culturally rich tradition.

Top Tip:

The main observance is at the hilltop cemeteries on Penang Hill Road and Air Itam — visit in the morning (7-11am) for the most activity

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Songkran (Thai New Year)
Free Entry
Festival

Songkran (Thai New Year)

📅 When:April 13 - 15
📍 Where:Wat Chayamangkalaram & Thai temples, Lorong Burma

Penang's Thai community celebrates the water festival at temples along Lorong Burma with traditional water-pouring rituals, merit-making, and cultural performances.

Top Tip:

Visit Wat Chayamangkalaram in the morning for the merit-making ceremony and to see the reclining Buddha

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Puthandu — Tamil New Year
Free Entry
Festival

Puthandu — Tamil New Year

📅 When:April 14 (Tamil zodiac new year — fixed date)
📍 Where:Arulmigu Balathandayuthapani Temple (Waterfall Road), Nattukotai Chettiars Temple (Penang Road)

Puthandu is the Tamil New Year celebrated on April 14, marked by temple visits, the kani (auspicious tray) tradition, and family gatherings. One of Penang's quieter but culturally significant spring festivals.

Top Tip:

Puthandu falls on April 14 each year — a fixed date on the solar Tamil calendar

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Penang Open Water Swim Challenge
Ticketed
Sports

Penang Open Water Swim Challenge

📅 When:April 2026
📍 Where:Tanjung Bungah

Open water swimming race at Tanjung Bungah — 1.5K, 3K, and 5K distances in warm tropical waters.

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Good Friday Procession at St Anne's Church
Free Entry
Cultural

Good Friday Procession at St Anne's Church

📅 When:Good Friday (March or April, follows Easter calendar)
📍 Where:St Anne's Church, Bukit Mertajam, Seberang Prai

Tens of thousands of Catholic pilgrims walk through the night to St Anne's Church in Bukit Mertajam for one of Malaysia's largest Good Friday processions, beginning at midnight.

Top Tip:

Arrive well before midnight as roads fill up hours in advance

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