Thrissur: The 64th State School Arts Festival (Kerala School Kalolsavam 2025-26) will be held in Thrissur from January 14 to 18. Construction of 25 stages and other venues is progressing at a fast pace. 

The main venue (Stage 1), named 'Sooryakanthi', is coming up at the Pooram exhibition ground in Thekkinkadu Maidan and will accommodate 7,500 spectators.

'Paarijaatham' — the stage near the CMS School — and 'Neelakurinji', facing the Banerjee Club at Thekkinkadu Maidan, can seat 2,000 spectators each. Other venues, being set up in schools and major halls across the city, will have capacities of around 1,000 each. Twenty-five e-toilets will also be installed on the Maidan premises.

The sites where the 25 stages are being built have become a temporary “home” for two Thiruvananthapuram natives — Vijayakumar and his daughter Greeshma — since Christmas Day. They are proprietors of SV Decorations, the firm that secured the contract to erect all the stages. While the ceremonial “kaalnaattal karmam” took place on December 20, actual construction began on December 25.

Greeshma and Vijayakumar reach the sites early each morning before the workers arrive and remain there until midnight, inspecting the work and issuing instructions. This is the second time the father-daughter team has taken up the construction of the State Kalolsavam stages. They had earlier arranged all 27 stages at the festival held in Thiruvananthapuram.

SV Decorations has been a leading stage-construction firm for more than 45 years, creating venues for major events such as the state government’s swearing-in ceremony, Ente Keralam, and Keraleeyam. The company won the Kalolsavam contract through a bidding process. Currently, around 200 of its workers are engaged in building the 25 stages in Thrissur.

Greeshma, a civil engineering diploma holder, has been working with her father for the past eight years. Her husband, Harishankar — a DJ artist — also assists them and will be in Thrissur briefly before travelling to Dubai for a programme.

Of the 25 venues, 24 are being built using German technology and one is using traditional Kerala methods. “German techniques cannot be applied to the main stage because of the large trees at the site,” explained Greeshma, who is supervising the work.

“The main venue is being built with GI sheet hangers. German technology allows faster completion at lower cost, reduces heat inside the venue, and makes installation and dismantling easier. It also gives a premium look. Another advantage is that a single pillar can support the entire structure,” she said.

Programme committee convenor MA Arunkumar said the work will be completed by the evening of January 9. “All stages and venues will be handed over to the organising committee on the morning of January 10,” he added.

Accommodation for participants in 19 schools
Students and accompanying teachers arriving in Thrissur from across the state will be accommodated in 19 schools in and around the city.

Accommodation for boys - St Thomas HSS, Thope; Holy Angels’ HSS, Ollur; Nirmala UP School, Ayyanthole; JPEHS, Koorkencherry; Tharakan’s HSS, Aranattukara; St Joseph’s HSS, Kuriyachira; Don Bosco HSS, Mannuthy; St Thomas College HSS, Thrissur; St Augustine’s HSS, Kuttanellur; and NSS EMHSS, West Fort.

Accommodation for girls - St Mary’s Lourde UP School, East Fort; Infant Jesus HS, Aranattukara; Bethlehem CG HSS, Mukkattukara; LFCG HS, Olarikkara; St Paul’s HSS, Kuriyachira; St Mary’s CGHS, Ollur; Vivekodayam Girls’ HSS, Thrissur; St Raphael CG HSS, Ollur; and St Joseph CG HSS, Thrissur.