Thao Thep
Kasattri and Thao Sisunthon Fair is held on March 13 every year to
commemorate the two great heroines who rallied the Thalang people to repel
Burmese invaders. Many activities and celebrations are organised.
Seafood
Festival, held around May yearly, is designed to publicise the
delicious seafood of Phuket and attract visitors during the rainy season.
Activities include a Marine Tourism Resources Parade, seafood stalls,
demonstrations of regional cuisines and cultural shows.
Vegetarian Festival is held on the first day of the 9th lunar month (usually
October). Phuket islanders of Chinese ancestry commit themselves to a 9-day
vegetarian diet, a form of purification believed to help make the
forthcoming year “trouble-free”. The festival is marked by several ascetic
displays, including fire-walking and ascending sharp-bladed ladders.
Phuket
Travel Fair , held on November 1, was first initiated in 1985 at
Patong to welcome in the tourist season and designed to foster co-operation
among tourism-related operators both in the private and public sectors.
Many colourful and interesting activities are organised, such as merit-making
in the morning, water sports contests, a Miss Visitor Contest, among
others.
Phuket
King ’s Cup Regatta is held in December. The Phuket Yacht Club hosts
international yachtsmen, largely from neighbouring countries who compete
in the Nai Han Beach area for royal trophies.
Laguna
Phuket Triathlon is held in each December. The triathlon (a 1,000-metre
swim, a 5-kilometre bike race and a 12-kilometre run) attracts world-class
athletes from all over the world.
Tourist
Season Opening Festival , starting from November 1, is usually called
the Patong Carnival, from the place where celebrations occur. Colourful
parades, sports events, and a beauty competition for foreign tourists are
major activities.
Turtle
Release Fair is held on Songkran, the nationwide Thai water festival,
on April 13 which is also National Fisherman’s Day. Baby turtles are
released into the sea at various locations.
Chao Le
(Sea Gypsy) Boat Floating Festival falls during the middle of the
sixth and eleventh lunar months yearly. The sea gypsy villages at Rawai
and Sapam hold their ceremonies on the 13th; Ko Si-re celebrates on the
14th; and Laem La (east of the bridge on Phuket’s northerntip) on the
15th. Ceremonies, which centre around the setting adrift of small boats
similar to the Thai festival of Loi Krathong, are held at night and their
purpose is to drive away evil and bring good luck. |
