Hong Kong's month-long museum festival, Muse Fest HK 2026, opened on 31 October with an outdoor carnival celebrating the city's local history. Organised by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, this year's festival carries the theme Hong Kong Story and runs through the end of November.

The programme includes more than 60 activities across 17 museums and art spaces, spanning workshops, concerts, expert talks, guided tours and performances. The two-day opening carnival, the Fun@Museum Carnival, takes place on 31 October and 1 November at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre piazza in Tsim Sha Tsui, with stalls and activities inspired by old Hong Kong.

The Intangible Cultural Heritage Office is among the sections contributing to the opening weekend, with a display of pixiu creations by students of veteran paper crafting master Hui Ka-hung at Art Square, in front of the Hong Kong Museum of Art. The Hong Kong Science Museum is also marking its 35th anniversary during the festival, with visitors making traditional sau tao longevity peach candles while learning about candle structure and combustion.

Muse Fest is one of several cultural programmes running in the city this autumn. The Leisure and Cultural Services Department is also behind the Asia+ Festival, now in its fourth edition, which runs from September to November with more than 100 performances and arts events from over 30 countries and regions. Its recent highlights included Canvas of Sound, an Aga Khan Music Programme residency pairing live calligraphy by Pakistani-Canadian visual artist Tazeen Qayyum with master musicians, with performances on 23 and 24 October and a display of the canvases created live on 24 and 25 October.

The Hong Kong Heritage Museum is also presenting an exhibition on Chinese birthday celebration culture, which opened on 14 October and runs to 26 July 2027, featuring about 100 items from the collections of museums under the department, from Ming and Qing porcelain to Cantonese opera costumes and a recreated banquet hall setting.