On 16 April 2017, Mrs. Sutthiluck Sa-ngarmangkang, Consul-General of Thailand, attended the Songkran Festival at Budhapanyanantarama Temple in Burnaby while Mr. Narat Vidyananda, Deputy Consul-General, attended the Songkran Festival at Yanviriya Buddhist Temple in Vancouver. Thai communities in Vancouver, Burnaby and nearby cities as well as Seattle, United States of America joined in the celebration of Songkran Festival or Thai New Year. Activities organized for the celebration of Songkran Festival in both temples included merit-making, praying and meditation, food offering to monks as well as traditional rites of Songkran, namely sprinkling scented water on Buddha image and younger people pour scented water on the elder people’s hands to pay respect and ask for blessing to celebrate the Thai New Year in a warm family-like atmosphere.
