The Royal Thai Consulate-General in Vancouver in collaboration with Team Thailand and Thai community organized the 5th Thai Festival in Vancouver from 21-22 July 2018. The Festival was declared opened by Mr. Nontawat Chandrtri, Consul-General of Thailand to Vancouver. The opening ceremony was well attended by Canadian dignitaries at the national, provincial as well as local levels including the Honorable Yonah Martin, Senator, who represented the Honorable Alice Wong, MP, the Honorable Bruce Ralston, Minister of Jobs, Trade and Technology of BC, Deputy Speaker Raj Chouhan, MLA John Yap, Mrs. Heather Deal, Deputy Mayor of Vancouver, Mr. Hector Bremner, Vancouver City Councillor, Dr. Chak Au, Richmond City Councillor, Superintendent Martin Bruce, who represented Chief Constable Adam Palmer, Vancouver Police Department. The ceremony was also participated by many Consuls-General and representatives from numerous countries.
This year’s Thai Festival was held under the theme “Harmonious Thailand” to depict the country’s social cohesion and her perfect blend of historical splendor and modernity full of new technology and innovations in accordance with the government’s policy of “Thailand 4.0”. Like the years before, there were booths on various aspects of Thailand by members of Team Thailand offices such as trade, investment, tourism, and agricultural products as well as general booths of Thai food, drinks, spa & massage and imported products from Thailand. In addition, the Royal Thai Consulate-General also invited representatives from Thai Game Software Industry Association (TGA) and Thai Animation & Computer Graphics Association (TACGA) to present samples of Thai online games and animated films to introduce yet another aspect of Thailand to our audience.
This year’s stage performances and other activities included Thai cultural dances and music performances as well as “Thai Fits” exercise by Phattayakul Thai Music and Drama School, traditional Thai music and songs, fashion show of Thai costumes, Thai sword fighting and “Muay Thai” by members of Thai community and local company, Q&A session about Thailand as well as demonstration of Thai cuisine & Thai arts of fruit and vegetable carving by Rajamangala University of Technology Phra Nakhon.
With the comprehensive presentation of Thailand in numerous aspects with new dimensions added such as the innovation booth of Thai digital media, music performances of contemporary Thai and English songs by both “Wong Thai,” or “Thai Band,” recently founded this year, and “Wong Laos,” or “Laos Band,” our guest performers, as well as creative fashion show of Thai fabric by famous local designer, the 5th Thai Festival in Vancouver successfully attracted many dignitaries, members of the media, local Canadians and foreign residents of Vancouver and nearby cities. In total, there were more than 40,000 participants took part in this year’s Thai Festival in Vancouver.
