This is to give you idea about the special events and festivals in Thailand and therefore we advice you to check with us for the current date set for the festival to avoid any inconvenience of possible changes.

This festival is held at Chiang Mai city hall. It features a variety of products for sale, especially handicrafts, a Miss Chiang Mai beauty contest, and entertainment. Everything comes alive at night.

Generally celebrated on January 1., in Bangkok located around Sanam Luang, and marked by early morning Buddhist merit-making as well as afternoon and evening folk entertainment.

Dragon deity for his benevolence. A colorful costumed procession makes its way through the streets with marching bands, lion, and dragon dances from five nations and figures of venerated deities. A light & sound presentation completes the celebrations.

Thailand’s largest Buddhist monument, the 127-meters high Phra Pathom Chedi is the site of this fair featuring a wide range of fruits that grow in the province. In addition there are food product contests, handicraft sales and demonstrations, Nakhon Pathom cultural performances, tourism activities and shows.

The unique martial art of Muay Thai can be seen in its commercial form trough the week at the two major boxing stadiums in Bangkok:

Lumphini on Sunday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday.

Ratchadamnoen on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. Programs generally feature eight bouts and commence at 6.00 PM.

Thailand’s ornately carved and decorated Royal Barges are displayed in boat sheds on Khlong Bangkok Noi, just off the Chao Phraya River near Phra pin Klao Bridge. These barges were used on Royal and state occasions and formerly served as war vessels. The most beautiful and well-known barge is Suphannahong, used by the King only when he made his journey to perform the Kathin ceremony, a Buddhist tradition of offering robes to monks usually during October or November. The next Royal barge Procession will take place during the momentous Sixth Cycle Birthday of Thailand’s beloved monarch, H.M. King Bhumibol Adulyadej in October 1999.

The boat sheds are open to the public daily from 9 am until 5 PM.

Magha Puja Day
February

This important Buddhist holy day commemorates the occasion when 1 250 of Buddha s disciples congregated to hear him preach. Merit-making ceremonies take place during the day at temples through the country, while at night triple candlelit circumambulations are staged around monastery chapels.

Songkran Festival
April

The traditional Thai New Year is an occasion for merrymaking in Bangkok as well as in other parts of the country. Thais mark the occasion with religious ceremonies as well as public festivities. Anyone who ventures out on the streets is likely to get a thorough soaking but all in the spirit of fun and goodwill at the peak of the hot season.

In Bangkok the Songkran is celebrated citywide most notably in Sanam Luang which is the large field fronting the grand Palace where the revered Phra Buddha Shining image is displayed and bathed by devotees, and also At Wisutkasat where a Miss Songran beauty contest is accompanied by merit-making, paying respects to elders and numerous forms of entertainment, including high-spirited water splashing.

Thailand’s world famous seaside resort puts on its most festive face for this annual event held at the height of the summer season. Food and floral boats, beauty contests, stalls selling local delicacies and a spectacular display of fireworks on the beach to be mentioned just a few highlights that attract merrymakers.

The fair features a beauty contest , a Thai cooking competition, agricultural exhibitions, and local product sales including fruits & Thai sweets.

This ancient Brahman ritual celebrates the official commencement of the rice-growing season and is staged at Sanam Luang, the large field across the Grand Palace. The participants who perform various ceremonies believed to forecast the abundance of the next rice crop wear colorful costumes.

This is the holiest of all Buddhist religious days, marking the birth, enlightenment, and the death of Buddha. As on Magha Puja, temples through the country are crowded with people who come to listen to sermons by revered monks. In the evening there are solemn candlelit processions around major chapels.

These annual fairs are held in the eastern provinces of Rayong, Chantaburi and Trat to celebrate the abundance of local fruits such as rambutan, durian, mangosteen and zalacca, when at their peak of succulent ripeness. Besides stalls selling fruits from surrounding orchards and other local products, there are colorful floats decorated with fruits and flowers, beauty pageants, fruit contests, cultural shows handicrafts and agricultural produce displays and also folk entertainment.

Chiang Rai, Thailand’s northernmost province is known for the high quality of lychees that grow in its orchards and this fair celebrates the harvest of this fruit. In addition to lychee sales there are displays of other agricultural products and local handicrafts and a Miss Lychee contest.

Held at the Main Stadium in Chantaburi.

This fair features fruit floats, fruit contests, an agricultural exhibition, a beauty contest, and the Princess Cup Dog Contest and gems shows.

This annual celebration commemorates the birthday of the celebrated Rattanakosin poet, Sunthon Phu

( 1787 – 1855 ) designated an eminent classical poet by UNESCO. The celebration take place at the Sunthon Phu Memorial Park at Ban Klam Village, Amphoe Klaeng, birthday place of the poet s father. Highlights include theatrical performances and puppet shows depicting Sunthon Phu s literary works, poetry recitals, and folk entertainment.

The full moon day of the eighth lunar month commemorates the Buddha s first sermon to his first five disciples after attaining Enlightenment more than 2500 years ago. Evening candlelit processions are staged in all Thai Buddhist temples.

This day marks the beginning of the annual three-month Rains Retreat during which Buddhist monks customarily stay inside their monasteries to study and meditate. Phansa is the most auspicious time for Buddhist ordinations since it marks a period of renewed spiritual vigor.

The commencement of Phansa, or the Buddhist Rains Retreat is observed in the Northeastern city of Ubon Ratchathani with this lovely festival that highlights artistic skills as well as religious devotion. Beautifully carved beeswax candles, some of them several meters tall, are put on show in colorful parades before being presented to local temples.

Through Thailand, public buildings are decorated in honor of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit on the occasion of her birthday. The most splendid ones are to be seen in Bangkok particularly along Rathadamnoen Avenue and in the area around the Grand Palace, where government offices and streets are garlanded with colored lights.

Phitchit is located in one of the most beautiful parts of Thailand, surrounded by green valleys and picturesque wooded hills. This annual regatta takes place on the Nan River, which runs through the provincial capital and features numerous low-slung wooden boats racing with great gusto to the cheers of the spectators.

According to tradition, Loi Krathong originated in Sukhothai the first Thai capital and therefore the main festival is arranged in the atmospheric ruins of the ancient city of Sukhothai. Highlights include displays of lighted candles and fireworks, folk dancing and a spectacular light & sound presentation.

Everywhere in Thailand the end of the Buddhist rains Retreat is celebrated by setting intricately decorated boats, each containing a lighted candle to drift on the river or the sea when the night falls, to present the "new beginning".

Annually the Thai Beers Festival is arranged at the World Trade Center in Bangkok to enable everyone to enjoy themselves and to celebrate the New Year. The festival features sales of barbecued food, seafood, and Thai culinary specialties along with the music and cultural performances.

Internationally famous, this annual event brings crowds of visitors to the provincial city of Surin where some 100 trained elephants are assembled. Among the spectacular shows are wild elephant hunts, tug-of-war between elephants and men, demonstrations of log-pulling skills and a parade of elephants outfitted for medieval warfare.

Made famous in the movie of the same name, the bridge on the River Kwae is the setting for this weeklong series of events in a province that also possesses many other attractions. Highlights include a light & sound presentation at the bridge, archeological and historical exhibitions, and rides on vintage trains.

Everyone has heard of Thailand s lustrous silk. Khon Kaen is one of the major centers of silk production. Many shops offer the beautiful fabric at this fair, which is held along side the traditional Phuk Siao (friendship-making) ritual. Festive processions and cultural shows enhance the atmosphere.

The deep reverence felt by all Thais for their King is perhaps unique in the modern world and His

Birthday provides an annual occasion for public expression. Government buildings, businesses,

In addition, homes all over the country are elaborately decorated and the area round the Grand Palace is spectacularly illuminated.

This annual event takes place in the blue waters of the Andaman Sea off the island of Phuket, sponsored by the Phuket Yacht Club and other groups. Competitors come from Malaysia, Singapore, and other countries as well as from Thailand and the trophies are awarded in several different categories.