Chiang Mai Municipality has announced this year’s Yi Peng festival will run from Nov 23 to 25, with 26 floats competing for a royal trophy and a few added spots where visitors can take the photo.
Mayor Assanee Buranupakon announced the plans on Nov 11 at Talat Ton Lamyai Public Park, flanked by Chiang Mai governor Thotsaphon Phuean-udom, a deputy provincial police commander, a Tourism Authority of Thailand deputy director and a representative from the Thai Health Promotion Foundation.
This year’s theme is “Saeng Sattha Bucha Fa, Thara Mae Raming, Chalerm Ming Nopburi”, roughly a nod to faith, the sky and the Ping River. The municipality says it has worked with partner organisations across the city to pull it together.
The main event is the parade of large krathong floats, which compete for a trophy bestowed by the King. Thapae Road and the streets around the old city will be decorated with lights, and a sound-and-light show with multimedia effects is planned at Thapae Gate.
The rest of the programme is long, and mostly familiar to anyone who has been before. There are contests for the Yi Peng Thepi and Thepbut, the festival’s goddess and god pageant, for the youngest Yi Peng contestants, for krathong made from banana leaf and fresh flowers, and for large hanging Lanna lanterns. The sapao contest, held at Talat Ton Lamyai Public Park, is for the offering boats that artisans and local families build from biodegradable plant materials such as bamboo, banana trunks, banana leaves, papaya and coloured paper. Lanna-style krathong will be floated on the river. A ceremony at city hall will pay respects to the guardian spirit shrine and the white pagoda and ask forgiveness of the Ping River, and the Tang Tham Luang sermon tradition will be held at the Three Kings Monument.
Thapae Road, all the way to city hall, will be dressed up as a “cultural street”. The municipality has also added landmark photo points, so visitors can check in and share the festival online, which tells you who the organisers think is coming.
Mayor Assanee framed the festival as the official start of the tourist season, just ahead of the cool weather. Thai and foreign visitors alike are invited.