Galle Literary Festival and other events worth timing the trip around

Yes, the Galle Literary Festival is still running (the country edition typically in January), with international and Sri Lankan authors, workshops, dinners and walks inside Galle Fort. Tickets and the festival hotels sell out fast; book months ahead. Other events worth timing for: Sinhala/Tamil New Year (Awurudu) in mid-April, a beautiful cultural moment but also the busiest domestic travel period (book transport early); Esala Perahera in Kandy in July/August (covered elsewhere on this forum, one of Asias great festivals); Vesak Poya in May (Buddhist full-moon, lanterns and dansal food stalls everywhere, but national alcohol ban); Independence Day (4 February) for parades; the Kataragama festival (July/August) for an extraordinary religious-cultural mix in the deep south; and SLC home Test/ODI cricket series (check the SLC calendar). Galle Lit and Esala Perahera are the two most "plan your whole trip around it" events.