Maha Festival 2022 set for end of July

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - This year’s Maha Festival will again be a two-day event.

Organizers announced Monday that the 2022 event has been set for Friday and Saturday July 29-30. The 14th annual event will feature performances and other events from 5-11 p.m. that Friday and continue from 2 p.m. the next day at Aksarben Village, located at 67th and Center streets. Last year’s event was scaled back to one day “in response to the ongoing pandemic.”

Maha Festival organizers said in a news release Monday that “the outdoor festival will feature two music stages, including notable national indie, pop, and R&B/rap acts alongside Omaha-based artists, plus comedy and poetry performances, local food and beer, and more.”

The Maha Community Village, described as “a creative activity area hosted by fellow nonprofits,” will also return to the festival this year, as will its retail shopping area.

Organizers said in Monday’s announcement that they expect to announce the festival’s music acts in March.

“We’re so excited to bring the community together this summer for two days of festival fun,” Maha co-executive director Rachel Grace said in Monday’s news release.

Noting that last year’s sold-out attendance was intentionally limited to 6,400 fans last year, with the help of more than 600 volunteers, to allow for social distancing, organizers expect this summer’s festival will utilize nearly 1,000 event volunteers. Those volunteers will be granted “a free ticket in exchange for a few hours of their time,” the release states.

Health and safety protocols, volunteer registration, and tickets sale information will be also released in March, but organizers said Monday that the conference-style and pop-up events will “remain on pause this year.” The release did note that kids ages 10 and younger will receive free admission with a ticketed adult.

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