Phuket Events & Festivals
Planning your holiday to coincide with one of Phuket's many events and festivals could make all the difference between a good holiday and a really memorable one. There are important events scattered throughout the year, so check if your visit to Phuket will coincide with anything you'd be interested in.
The Vegetarian Festival, which takes place in late September, is the most famous and spectacular of these. However, there are events throughout the year. Songkran, in April, is the Thai new year but is also an excuse for a huge water fight. While Loi Krathong, in November is a more subdued but magical festival.
April
Songkran: 13th - 15th
Beginning on the 13th of April Thai people all over the country celebrate the Thai New Year, the most important holiday on the Thai calendar. The holiday is best known for revellers playfully splashing water on each other and dabing scented powder on each others faces as a new year blessing. Over the years this has escalated into a huge water fight where anyone is fair game. People roam the streets armed with high pressure water pistols or stand by the side of the road with buckets and hoses, ready to drench any passer-by. If you venture out during this period, the 13th in particular, expect to get soaked!
Traditionally, however, Songkran is a time of cleaning and renewal. During Songkran Thais perform religious rituals such as cleaning Buddha images, giving alms to the monks and going to the temple to pray. Songkran is also a time for families. Many people return home over the Songkran holiday and pay respect to their elders by sprinkling scented water over their hands. The festival is a 3-day public holiday, (see holidays).
Phuket Bike Week: 10th - 13th
Big bike rally and events in Phuket during Songkran Festival organized by Phuket Riders Club.
Motorcycle Exhibition: 10-12 Apr, 10.00-23.00 hrs at Jungceylon - Patong
Biker Weekend Party: 11-12 Apr, 18.00-23:59 hrs - Patong Football Field
Island Bike Cruise: 12 Apr
Phuket Bike Week Grand Dinner: 12 Apr, 17.00-22.00hrs - Thainnan Restaurant, Phuket Town
Phuket International Cricket Sixes: 16th - 20th
The Phuket International Cricket Sixes, winner of prestigious awards from International Cricket Council and the Asian Cricket Council, attracts club cricket teams from around the world to enjoy the competition and camaraderie of cricket every year at the Karon Stadium in Phuket. For more info visit: http://www.phuketsixes.com/
May
Punchline Comedy Club - Live Stand-up Comedy: 14th
Punchline Comedy Club in association with the London Comedy Store presents a night of Live International Stand-Up Comedy. Three top comedians, two glass-filling intervals, and a joke competition will fill a night of fun and laughter.
Comedians performing:
- Paul Thorne (“Superb! Go and see him”: The Times)
- Tom Wrigglesworth (“The ultimate crowd pleaser”: The Guardian)
- Ian Moore (“One of the country's top comedians”: The Guardian)
Venue: Holiday Inn Resort Phuket, Patong
Tickets:
Prices: 960 Baht in advance, 1200 Baht on the door. Tickets are available at Woody's Sandwich Shoppes. For further outlets and information, please see http://www.phuketcomedy.com/ .
July
Phuket Race Week: 23rd - 27th
A full week of international-standard yacht racing for a wide range of yachts — from the highly competitive top racers all the way to liveaboard cruisers and charter boats. (See Phuket Race Week for more details).
August
Por Tor Festival
This Chinese ancestor worship festival takes place in the seventh Chinese lunar month, which is when the Chinese believe that the spirits of the dead are released from the underworld. The Chinese communities in Phuket make food offerings to appease the hungry spirits and to pay their respects. Turtle-shaped cakes are a popular offering as turtles represent longevity. The worshippers believe that these turtle cakes will help prolong their own life. Events take place around Phuket's Chinese shrines at different times over a 15-day period. Like most other festivals Chinese Phuket, there is a lot of food, as well as stage performances.
Phuket Fireworks Festival
This event takes place in mid-August at Saphan Hin on the edge of Phuket City. The scale of the display means that the spectacle can also be enjoyed from other locations, such as Rang Hill, or anywhere along Phuket Bay.
October
Phuket Vegetarian Festival
The Vegetarian Festival takes place at the start of the ninth Chinese lunar month, which falls in late September or early October. This is Phuket's most famous and spectacular festival. The rituals, which last for nine days, are performed to purify both body and mind. During this time, participants go on a strict diet, which is technically vegan as no animal products are allowed to be consumed.
There are processions through the streets and tests of devotion where supplicants perform acts of self-mortification including piercing of the cheeks and tongues with knives and various objects. The more impressive events include ascetic devotees walking on burning coals and climbing ladders with knife-edged rungs. Definitely not for the faint hearted. (For more info see Phuket vegetarian festival).
November
Phuket (Patong) Carnival
The carnival is held in the first week of November to celebrate the start of the high season at Patong Beach. There are stalls selling crafts and food, colourful parades, watersports competitions, fashion shows and a beauty pageant. This years festival marks the 20th anniversary of the event and promises to be the biggest ever.
Loi Krathong
Loi Krathong takes place on the night of the full moon in November and is the most magical of all Thai festivals. Small lotus-shaped boats woven from banana leaves, called krathongs, are floated on water. These vessels contain small flowers, candles, incense and offerings to thank Mother Water for providing water for them to use. Thai people also believe that if they place a strand of hair or nail clipping in the krathong their troubles will be carried away with it.
In Phuket, many people go to Saphan Hin on the edge of Phuket City to launch their krathongs. The beach at Patong is also popular. There you can also float paper lanterns into the sky. Watching hundreds of these glowing lanterns drifting up into the sky over the sea is an enchanting way to spend an evening.
December
Laguna Phuket Triathlon
This annual competition takes place in the Laguna Resort complex at Bang Tao Beach. It attracts professional and amateur triathletes from around the world. The event comprises a 1.8km swim, 55km cycle and 12km run through beautiful natural surroundings. (See http://www.lagunaphuket.com/triathlon for more details).
King's Cup Regatta
The King's Cup is Asia's premier regatta. The event takes place in the first week of December as it was inaugurated to honour the King's birthday, which is on December 5th. Sailing enthusiasts from around the world come to Phuket every year to take part in the event, which not only involve lots of sailing but plenty of parties in the evenings. (For more info see King's Cup Regatta).
March 2009
Phuket Gay Festival
The Phuket Gay Festival is one of Phuket's largest annual events. Taking place in Patong, the festival runs over four days with many parties, a volleyball tournament and a street parade that is the highlight of the festival. (For more info see http://www.beachpatong.com/gaypatong/phuketgayfestival).
The Thao Thep Krasatri - Thao Sri Suntorn Festival (mid-March)
This event is held annually in mid-March to honour Phuket's two heroines, (see history). The festival takes place in the area around the heroines' monument on Thep Krasatri road. There is a fun-fair, food stalls and stage performances throughout the week.
For more information on all events in Phuket, contact the Tourist Office at:
Tourism Authority of Thailand
73-75 Phuket Rd.
T. Talad Nuea, A. Muang
Phuket 83000
Tel: 076 211 036, 076 212 213
