Art and Literature Festival

PROGRAM SCHEDULE

September 26, 2026

Castro Valley Center for the Arts, Castro Valley, California

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10:00 AM – 10:15 AM

Inauguration

A warm opening to ALF 2026, welcoming guests, artists, writers, and the community.

10:15 AM – 12:15 PM

Morning Literary Session

A curated literary session exploring identity, belonging, memory, and the stories that connect Kerala and the Bay Area.

Lunch Break

12:15 PM – 1:15 PM

Time to gather, connect, and enjoy lunch with friends, families, and fellow festival attendees.

Featured Performance

1:15 PM – 2:15 PM

To Be Announced

This session will be announced later as additional program details are finalized.

2:15 PM – 2:45 PM

Writers on Stage

A special space for book releases, book presentations, and celebrating young readers and writers from our community.

2:45 PM – 3:45 PM

Featured Talk by Sunil P. Elayidom

An engaging session with Sunil P. Elayidom, bringing his distinctive voice on literature, culture, and contemporary thought.

3:45 PM – 4:00 PM

Young Performers’ Theatre

A short and joyful segment celebrating the creativity and confidence of our young participants.

Dance Performance

4:00 PM – 4:30 PM

Dance Performances

An energetic presentation of dance performances celebrating rhythm, movement, and cultural expression.

4:30 PM – 5:30 PM

Dr. Neena Prasad — Mohiniyattam

A graceful Mohiniyattam performance by Dr. Neena Prasad, one of Kerala’s most respected classical dancers.

Musical Programs

5:30 PM – 8:00 PM

An unplugged Conversational Musical Journey In Memory of Vayalar Ramavarma

A musical tribute to the timeless legacy of Vayalar Ramavarma, featuring singers and artists from Kerala in an evening of nostalgia, poetry, and song.

Children’s ’ Workshops & Activities

In addition to the main-stage programs, ALF will also feature parallel kids’ workshops and activities throughout the day, creating a fun and engaging festival experience for young attendees.

Identity & Belonging

Stories that cross borders. Voices that bring us closer.

At ALA, we believe art and literature can do more than preserve culture — they can open conversations between cultures.

As ALF comes to the Bay Area, Identity & Belonging brings together writers, poets, a publisher and an independent bookseller for a morning of stories and conversations about home, memory, migration, identity and the journey of books.

Curated by Vinod Narayanan, the morning is designed as a meeting place for voices, experiences and perspectives from across cultures.

We begin with Krishita Kataria, Alameda County Youth Poet Laureate , bringing the voice of a new generation to the ALF stage.

Stories of Identity brings together Karin Jensen, Scott Russel Duncan and Gary Quan, in a conversation led by Carla Denise Williams-Namboodiri , exploring how family, culture, history and lived experience shape the stories we tell.

In Belonging Beyond Borders, Vinod Narayanan speaks with Mona Hajjar Halaby about home, memory, identity and belonging across cultures and geographies.

The Publishing Road brings together author Nahui Ollin, Marthine Satris of Heyday Books, and Sanghera of Sansaar Books, in a conversation led by Sreevalsan Vallath, looking at how stories move from writer to publisher to reader.

This morning is not simply about presenting our culture. It is about creating a space where cultures meet, stories travel, and people recognize something of themselves in one another.

10:15 AM – 12:15 PM

September 26, 2026

Castro Valley Center for the Arts

Come for the stories. Stay for the conversation.

Featured Session

ഗൃഹാതുരസ്മരണകൾക്കപ്പുറമുള്ള സംസ്കാരം :
പ്രവാസജീവിതത്തിൽ മലയാളി സ്വത്വം

Conversations, Ideas, and Cultural Reflection

After being part of our ALF journey before, we are delighted to welcome Dr. Sunil P. Elayidom back to the ALA Art & Literature Festival — this time for his first ALF experience in the Bay Area!

And what better place for a conversation about carrying Malayali culture, identity, literature, and memory into a new geography than here in the Bay Area — a place where generations of Malayalis are building new lives while carrying pieces of Kerala with them.

Sunil P Elayidom

Featured Guest

Featured Session

A Graceful Mohiniyattam Performance

Mohiniyattam by Dr. Neena Prasad

We are delighted to welcome Dr. Neena Prasad, internationally acclaimed Mohiniyattam exponent, scholar, choreographer, and recipent of the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, to the ALA Art & Literature Festival

As ALF 2026-Kerala to the Baycelebrates the stories, traditions, and artistic expressions that travel with us across oceans and generations, Dr. Neena Prasad brings to the festival one of Kerala’s most graceful and profound classical art forms — Mohiniyattam.

Her performance will be a beautiful reflection of what ALF stands for: carrying our artistic heritage into new geographies, introducing it to new audiences, and keeping its stories alive through performance.

Neena Prasad

Featured Guest

Featured Session

Vayalar Night

A Musical Tribute to the Timeless Legacy of Vayalar Ramavarma

The evening culminates in Vayalar Night, a mesmerizing musical tribute to the legendary poet and lyricist Vayalar Ramavarma.

Acclaimed singers and musicians from Kerala will join us for an unforgettable night of music, poetry, memory, and nostalgia — celebrating timeless songs and words that continue to live across generations.

As Kerala commemorates the 50th anniversary of the passing of legendary poet and lyricist Vayalar Ramavarma, ALF joins this remembrance with a special evening of music, memory, and nostalgia.

Vayalar Night is a musical tribute to one of Malayalam's most beloved literary voices — a poet whose words became songs, and whose songs became part of Kerala's emotional memory.

Featuring musicians from Kerala, this unforgettable evening will bring alive the timeless melodies shaped by Vayalar's extraordinary lyrics — songs of love, longing, hope, nature, and the spirit of Kerala.

For those who grew up with these songs, it will be a journey back to a cherished past. For those discovering them for the first time, it will be an introduction to the beauty and depth of Malayalam music and poetry.

Join us at ALF as the Bay Area celebrates alongside Kerala in honoring Vayalar Ramavarma — a literary legend whose words continue to unite generations, cross borders, and keep our cultural heritage alive.

Reserve your seats today for an unforgettable evening where poetry meets melody, memories find their voice, and Vayalar's timeless legacy lives on.