The 17th Annual Radhadesh Mellows welcomed 1600-1700 Kirtan enthusiasts from over 50 countries and five continents to their annual event, which was held in the new Prasadam Hall at ISKCON Radhadesh Temple.
In addition to those who were fortunate enough to participate live in the sold-out weekend gathering, over 60K tuned into the livestream. In the coming months, the videos from the event typically get over a million total views. Radhadesh Mellows continues to set the standard for these kinds of kirtan gatherings.
“Kirtana, in its true essence, means to glorify Sri Sri Radha and Krishna. It is an opportunity to come together as devotees to glorify Their Lordships – by singing Their glories and chanting for Their pleasure,” said Manu, Radhadesh Mellows Coordinator. “This is the whole purpose of doing Kirtana; every soul has a personal relationship with the Lord, and in this age of Kali, the Lord has mercifully descended in the form of His Holy Names to help us revive and reestablish our long-lost relationship.”
Putting on the annual event is a monumental task, taking months to prepare. The organizers count on participants to volunteer to serve the thousands gathered over the five days. This year, more than 300 signed up for volunteering and helped the festivities go smoothly. “Holding the festival in a new hall for the first time was both a challenge but also an encouraging growth to the festival as it allowed at all moments for all participants to have sufficient space within the hall (which is a good 2.5 times more spacious than the previous one),” said Manu. “We keep doing our best to improve so everyone gets the opportunity to connect with the Holy Names.”
During the event, thirteen diverse and exquisite meals of prasadam were served to the thousands in attendance, with some saying that they came first for the fantastic prasadam and second for kirtan.
Though tickets are required to manage the demand, the event is always free to attend. Organizers say it costs around 75,000 euros to put on each year. Thanks to months of fundraising and the generosity of devotees and well-wishers, this year’s expenses were covered. “We’ve already started fundraising for next year as we will need everyone’s help in order to keep this fantastic event fully accessible for free to everyone,” Manu noted. The 2026 Radhadesh Mellow dates have already been set for January 22-25th, and tickets will be available in December 2025.
To support this transformative event, please visit their website. To view the live streams from the 2025 event and earlier gatherings, visit their YouTube page and follow them on Facebook and Instagram. To view images from the event, click here.
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