- New Year's Day - January 1st, the city has a sizeable expat populace, plus the locals also enjoy partying on New Year's Eve into the first day of the year
February
- Chinese New Year - usually mid-February, enjoyed in the local Chinatown and in particular along the Jalan Gaya, with the eating of dumplings and traditional lion dances
- Prophet Mohammed's Birthday - February / early March, various festivities are staged in the city to honour Mohammed
March
- Sabah Festival - early March, celebrating local traditions and cultures through music and dance performances. The Sabah Fest also involves handicrafts
- Muslim New Year - mid March, a holiday celebrated by the local Muslim community
- Mount Kinabalu Mountain Bike Challenge - Borneo's tallest peak is the scene of a lively mountain bike meet along the foothills of this leviathan
April
- Malaysia Water Festival - month-long event, features water sports action, with jet-skiing and kayaking competitions
- Good Friday - celebrating the Friday before Easter Sunday, with colourful parades and mass services
May
- Labour Day - May 1st, a national holiday in Malaysia
- Harvest Festival Regatta - with traditional dances by the Kadazan tribe along with local cuisine. Of note, this also goes by the title of Pesta Kaamatan
- Patterns and Colours of Sabah - mid-May, a month-long event featuring various exhibitions of art works and handicrafts
June
- Sabah Dragon Boat Race - one of the big sporting events of the year, held at Likas Bay, hosting international dragon boaters. The traditional longboats come with obligatory dragon head and include a drumming coxswain
July
- There are no notable festivals and events during the month of July
August
- Ramadan - early August, when Muslims are forbidden to eat or drink between sunrise and sunset
- Merdeka Regatta - late August, a week of racing, with many classes of boat across several events. Competitors come from around the globe, followed by parties
- National Day - August 31st, public holiday all over Malaysia including in Sabah, featuring parades, lights, live performances and flowers
September
- Hari Raya Aidilfitri - celebrating Ramadan's end and the start of Islamic New Year at mosques throughout the city
- Malaysia Fest - fortnight-long event involving tourist agencies, shopping malls and hotels, held to promote the city and country as a tourist destination. The Malaysia Fest always features great food and lots of handicrafts
October
- Sabah State Ruler's Birthday (Hari Jadi Yang di-Pertua Negeri Sabah) - early October, with local festivities
- Festival of Lights (Deepavali) - a popular Hindu festival noting the victory of good over evil with the lighting of candles and the dressing up of Hindu-centric streets and homes
- Kinabalu International Climbathon - late October / early November, a gruelling 20-km / 12-mile race to the top of Mount Kinabalu
November
- Hari Raya Haji - early November, an annual Muslim holiday taking place approximately 70 days after the end of Ramadan
- Kiulu 4M Challenge - a day of swimming, rafting, running, and stilt-walking, all traditional ways of travel for the north-east Kadazan tribe
- Awal Muharram (Islamic New Year) - late November / early December, a national holiday in Malaysia
December
- Christmas - December 25th, the same as it is anywhere in the world nowadays, with trees, lights, carols in shopping malls
