Patong gets five days of fun from December 15-20, with two parades and daily performances for tourists and residents.
Full name '2009 Phuket Carnival at Patong' this year divides into three zones.
At Loma Park will be booths for one-village-one-product sales, with the main stages in Loma Park and the football park opposite.
The third zone is in Soi Bangla, with dancing shows from Isarn, Bangkok, northern and southern Thailand
Patong Mayor Pian Keesin told Phuketwan that the carnival is coming later this year to avoid the rainy season.
''About 20 Patong groups, including the jet-ski group and the tuk-tuk group, will join in the events,'' he said. He expects about 100,000 people to attend over the five days.
A few days later, on December 26, a more solemn tone will be taken as Phuket and the Andaman region mark the fifth anniversary of the 2004 tsunami.
What it's all about?
Celebrating the onset of Phuket's 'high season', the busiest tourist season, this festival takes place at the island's most frequented beachfront area. Here you will be entertained by colourful street parades and can partake in beach volleyball or beach football competitions, a mini-marathon, various water-sport events and competitions as well as numerous other events and activities.
Activities worth taking your camera to are the traditional Thai dancing shows and cultural performances, held by numerous Patong hotels and other seaside outlets in the area. There are music bands, from jazz to pop, plus international as well as local singers and orchestral performances.
Food lovers will delight in the numerous food stalls along the beach front road and souvenir fans are ensured of finding at least one treasure at the many stalls selling local crafts and products.
Each night, as the sun sleeps; the skies blossom when fireworks leap high into the night sky, their silvery trails dropping into the sea, beyond the beach. Huge paper balloons are set adrift and float aloft, joining the star-lit rockets in their race to no-where.
|
