Some of the festivals held annually throughout South Africa are listed below. For an updated list, please view the Events Calendar.

January
* Cape Town Minstrel Carnival - in the form of a carnival, the parades are huge flamboyant affairs with grand costumes, wonderful marching bands, singing, dancing and more.

February
* Cape Town Pride - one of South Africa's biggest gay events; a 10 day extravaganza celebrating gay pride and diversity.

March
* Cape Town Festival - performing artists and youth from around the globe share their music, dance, poetry, comedy and theatre.
* Cape Town International Jazz Festival - Southern Africa's biggest jazz festival held annually with jazz legends from all over the world performing for at the convention centre.
* Tulbagh Dutch Food & Wine Festival  - Tulbagh in Western Cape hold a two-day Dutch Festival where the town's Church Street with its beautiful Cape Dutch architecture hosts cultural activities, appetising "spijs en drank" temptations and authentic treasures.

April
* Klein Karoo Nationale Kunstefees - held in Oudtshoorn it features well-known and young up-and-coming artists inmusic, dance and theatre.
* Splashy Fen - the Splashy Fen music festival attracts thousands of people to a farm near Underberg in KwaZulu-Natal for a feast of mainstream and alternative rock and pop.
* Prince Albert Town and Olive Festival - discover the secrets of the Karoo when Prince Albert open up the town for visitors to experience the Karoo first hand.
* South African Cheese Festival - held at Bien Donne outside Paarl it is most prominent cheese festival in Southern Africa

May
* Pink Loerie Mardi Gras - a gay festival held in the beautiful coastal town of Knysna in May, the Mardi Gras offers four days of non-stop entertainment
* Addo Elephant Marathon - extreme marathon held in a beautiful national wildlife park near Port Elizabeth
* The Royal Show - been held for 150 years in Pietermaritzburg, the Royal Show is one of South Africa's biggest annual events.
* Riebeek Kasteel Olive Festival - in the Swartland area of the Western Cape offering a feast of wine and the best olives in SA, with an art competition, live entertainment, stalls and lots of food.

June
* National Arts Festival - with over 600 performances including techno music and ballet, Grahamstown transforms for 11 glorious days every late June/ beginning July.

July
* Durban International Film Festival - showcase the best movies South Africa has produced in the past year.
* Knysna Oyster Festival - Knysna is famous for its oysters, and increasingly famous for the July festival that celebrates them.
* Ellisras (Lephalale) Bushveld Festival - includes cattle shows, a game auction, agricultural activities, 4x4 competition, a game farms expo, boerewors and other traditional foods, a beer tent and huge camp fires.
* Calitzdorp Port Festival - Calitzdorp is the port-wine capital of South Africa and the annual port festival, held over a weekend in July, showcases the top 15 South African port makers.

August
* Stellenbosch Wine Festival - sample over 500 wines and chase those winter blues away in South Africa's premier wine-producing region.
* Cape Town Fashion Week - models showing off the latest trends from around the world.
* Oppikoppi Bushveld Festival - held on the bush veld farm near Northam (Limpopo) this music festival offers 3 permanent stages, a smaller comedy stage and a stage for more chilled music at the top of the koppie.
* Hantam Vleisfees - Calvinia in the Northern Cape is sheep country, and this festival celebrates meat. There's meat braaied, stewed, curried, in pita, on sosaties, in potjies, etc, etc.

September
* Aardklop Arts Festival - Aardklop in Potchefstroom has over 90 productions, with classical music, jazz, hard rock, cabaret, visual arts, theatre, circus performances, opera, African and World music, poetry and more.
* Woodstock - held near Hartbeespoort dam it is a largest youth-oriented music and lifestyle festival. In addition to mainstream music, the festival offers a market of crafters and alternative lifestyle products.
* Hermanus Wine and Food Fair - combining great food, wine and whale-watching
* Awesome Africa Music Festival - takes place in Durban's Albert Park and has three stages of non-stop music, with over 200 artists from more than 20 countries.
* Southern Cross Music Festival - held in Mooi River, KwaZulu-Natal, it showcases South African music in a three-day event in Hidden Valley on the banks of the beautiful Mooi River.
* North West Cultural Calabash - held in the village of Taung it is a developmental youth based festival and features drama, music and dance productions, competition, Wordfest, art and craft exhibits and more.

November
* Ficksburg Cherry Festival - the Ficksburg (Free State) Cherry Festival offers cherry and asparagus tasting, tours, picnics, music, and the Miss Cherry Blossom and Miss Cherry Pip competitions.

December
* Spier Summer Festival - near Stellenbosch, the annual Spier Summer Festival offers music, opera, dance, stand-up comedy and theatre - running from December to March.