Festivals
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.
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