Thao Thep Krasatri-Thao Sri Suntorn Festival
It is held on 13 March yearly in memory of the two heroines who led the defense of the island against the Burmese in 1785.
Seafood Festival
Held around May yearly, is designed to publicize 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.
Turtle Release Fair
Phuket Turtle Release FairLocation: Sea Turtle Conservation Center Royal Thai Navy is held on Songkran, the nationwide Thai water festival, on April 13. It is also the National Fisherman’s Day. Baby turtles are released into the sea at various locations.
Songkran Festival
The word “Songkran” is derived from a Sanskrit word meaning “passing” or “moving”, measuring the movement of the sun through the twelve astrological signs beginning with Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces; each passing taking approximately 30 days through each sign. It takes a year for the sun to pass through all the signs. This calendar is in use in India and the Southeast Asian Nations that have been influenced by India-Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, etc. The 13th is Maha Songkran day, the first day of the new year celebrations, when the sun moves from Pisces into Aries, and when the lengths of the day and night are equal.
The legend of the Songkran Goddess
There is a specific goddess associated with each day upon which the Maha Songkran Day falls i.e. Thungsa, Khorak, Raksot, Montha, Kirini, Kimitha, and Mahothon for Monday through to Sunday, respectively. The goddesses are the daughters of the god Maha Songkran, otherwise known as Kabinlaphrom, who lost his head in a wager with Thammabankuman. They are tasked with carrying his head so that it would not touch the ground lest the earth were to be incinerated, or the air lest the rain not fall, or the oceans as they would dry and up. So each year, the goddesses each take their turn in carrying his head on a celestial salver.
Chao Le Boat Floating Festival (Sea Gypsy)
This festival falls during the middle of the sixth and eleventh lunar months yearly. The fest is held at the Chao Le, or Sea Gipsy, villages in Phuket. The Rawai and Sapam villages hold their ceremonies on the 13th; Sire village celebrates on the 14th; and the village at Laem La (east of the bridge on Phuket’s northern tip) celebrates on the 15th. Ceremonies, which center around the setting adrift of small boats similar to the Thai Festival of Loy Krathong, are held at night and their purpose is to drive away evil and to bring good luck. Fingernail clipping and strands of hair are put in the little boats before being released, along with little dolls fashioned from wood. Afterwards, the villagers perform their famous dance round their own boats, called the Ram Rong Ngeng.
Por Tor Festival
It is held from the first through the ninth nights of the ninth Chinese lunar month; that is, in September or October. It was first celebrated in 1825, when a troupe of actors enacted these rites toward off a plague. Vegetarian food is eaten by participants and white clothes worn during the period of the fest. Self utilization is practiced by those whose bodies become the temporary residence of powerful gods. Parades of worshippers brave fireworks while carrying images through the street; others walk on fire or climb bladed ladders. Participants number in the thousands. The whole forms one of the most bizarre festivals in Thailand.
Phuket Vegetarian Festival
The Phuket Vegetarian Festival is an annual event held during the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar. It is believed that the vegetarian festival and its accompanying sacred rituals bestow good fortune upon those who religiously observe this rite. During this time, local residents of Chinese ancestry strictly observe a 10-day vegetarian or vegan diet for the purposes of spiritual cleansing and merit-making. Sacred rituals are performed at various Chinese shrines and temples and aesthetic displays such as walking barefooted over hot coals and ascending ladders with bladed rungs are performed by entranced devotees known as “Ma Song”.
Laguna Phuket Triathlon
Laguna Phuket Triathlon This annual year end event sees the world’s top triathletes and hundreds of amateurs competing for prize money and placing on the world triathlon circuit. The course, which includes swimming, bicycling, and running through the beautiful natural surroundings of Laguna Phuket in Tambon Choeng Thale, takes from two-and-a-half to five hours to complete.
Phuket Travel Fair
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 colorful and interesting activities are organized, such as merit-making in the morning, water sports contests, a Miss Visitor Contest, among others.
Loi Krathong Festival
Loi Krathong Festival Loi Krathong is a tradition believed to have been influenced by the Indian Lantern or Diwali Festival, in which floats are made in worship of the three Brahmin Gods Bhrama, Vishnu, and Shiva. The belief was adapted to fit in with the Thai agrarian way of life, dependent upon the flow of water, changing it into a festival where one pay obeisance to Phra Mae Khongkha, the goddess of water. The practice became widespread nationally and internationally in due course, and has become synonymous with the Thai Culture. While each region will heave its own variations, the krathongs (floats) are normally shaped as a lotus from locally available materials.
Phuket King’s Cup Regatta
It was first held in 1987 in honor of His Majesty’s 60th birthday. The King of Thailand is a noted boating enthusiast and yachts come from around the world to participate in the competition, which is the largest and most popular in Southeast Asia. It is held yearly on the anniversary of His Majesty’s birthday, 5 December. Site of the regatta is Nai Harn Bay.
