The Royal Thai Consulate-General hosted the 2nd Thai Festival in Vancouver between 4-5 July 2015 at North Plaza, Vancouver Art Gallery. Comparing to its predecessor, this year’s Thai Festival was larger in both scope and scale as part of the grand celebrations of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s 88th Birthday Anniversary and the 5th Cycle Birthday Anniversary of Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn 2 April 2015. Among the many VIP guests from the British Columbia who attended the event were Ms. Linda Reid, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the British Columbia; Miss Jane Thornthwaite, Member of the Legislative Assembly of the British Columbia who represented Miss Teresa Wat, Minister of International Trade and Minister Responsible for the Asia Pacific Strategy and Multiculturalism, the representative of the British Columbia; representatives of Vancouver and Richmond Cities; local businessmen and media; as well as Canadian and foreign residents of Vancouver and nearby cities with the total of approximately 60,000 attendees.
In addition to the classical and contemporary Thai performances, the sampling and selling of Thai food, drinks, and imported products from Thailand, as well as the demonstration of Thai boxing, musical instruments, and massage, the Royal Thai Consulate-General organized exhibitions in honour of His Majesty the King and Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn to enhance mutual understanding between the two countries and peoples. With the view to raise fund for the improvement of children’s education in remote areas of Thailand, the Royal Thai Consulate-General organized an exhibition on Banmaerameong School, Tak Province, which was one of the schools in northern Thailand under the Royal Project of Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn; while the Thai community in Vancouver set up Thai Bazaar booth to sell Thai handicrafts. Throughout the two-day grand event, numerous activities and performances were continuously carried out on stage including the presentation of Thai Select certificates to qualified Thai restaurants, contemporary dances by the BU Theater Company of Bangkok University, traditional dances, musical instrument and choral performances by Thai community in Vancouver, Question and Answer sessions on Thailand, and a lucky draw for Bangkok Airways round-trip tickets.
