Wherever I am, the world comes after me.
It offers me its busyness. It does not believe that I do not want it.
Now I understand why the old poets of China went so far
and high into the mountains, then crept into the pale mist.
"The Old Poets of China" by Mary Oliver

Sanuk Sanan: The Third Thai Cultural Fair@ UP Asian Center

Details

Taste authentic Thai food, play traditional games, watch Thai dances, and enjoy a whole lot more at Sanuk Sanan: The Third Thai Cultural Fair, which will be held on 21 September 2017, 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm at the GT-Toyota Asian Center Auditorium, UP Asian Center, QC.  The fair is free and open to the public; walk-ins are welcome, but participants are encouraged to sign up.

YES: I WILL ATTEND THE FAIR!

ABOUT THE FAIR

Now on its third run, the fair showcases the different, colorful facets of Thai culture and society. For this year, the Thai delegation will set up a variety of booths with a theme, “Amazing Thailand: Fun, Fair, Food, Festival.”

Participants can learn about Thai festivals and entertainment; taste authentic Thai food, play traditional games, and discover products from Thailand’s One Tambon, One Product (OTOP) initiative.

OTOP showcases “unique locally made and marketed products of each Thai tambon all over Thailand,” such as handicrafts, cotton and silk garments, pottery, fashion accessories, household items, and foods.”

Participants can also get a chance to win lovely Thai products in a raffle and watch performances of Serng Swing Thai; the Dance of Four regions; and the Thai New Year Festival (Songkran Festival).

The different booths and activities will be manned by the trainees taking “Intensive Language Course” (ILC) at the Devawongse Varopakarn Institute of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kingdom of Thailand.

VIEW POSTER

ABOUT THE DANCES

Serng Swing—or the 'net song and dance'—is a Thai Folk dance from Isaan and northeastern Thailand. Dancers wear a bamboo basket around around their waist and carry a small fishing net called a swing. The dance is an ode to fishing, with steps showing how the day's catch or takong is made.

The Dance of the Four Regions draws from the different styles of Thailand's four geographical regions and brings them together in a combination of short dances, each with their own unique steps, music, and costume.

Songkran Festival is the Thai New Year's festival, a big part of Thai culture which runs for three days starting on April 13 and finishing on April 15 (the hottest time of the year). The holiday is known for its water festival. Most of Thai people go back to their hometown to meet the elders and show respect to them by pouring water over their hands. They have a lot of fun with friends and neighbors splashing water to one another.

TENTATIVE PROGRAM

  • 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm: Amazing Thailand: Fun Fair Food and Festival
  • 2:00 pm - 3:15 pm: Cultural performances
  • 3:15 pm - 4:00 pm: Closing remarks

THE ORGANIZERS

This cultural fair is organized by the UP Asian Center; Devawongse Varopakarn Institute of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kingdom of Thailand; and the UP Office of Initiatives for Culture and Arts (OICA).

VENUE And VICINITY MAP

Vehicles entering the UP Asian Center (GT-Toyota Asian Cultural Center) grounds can only do so via the gate on Magsaysay Avenue that is near a UP guardhouse, a few meters away from Katipunan Avenue, and across Maynilad. A small gate for pedestrians on Guerrero St. lies across the College of Law parking lot and a few meters away from a waiting shed, where the Ikot jeepney, and jeepneys from Philcoa and SM North pass by. VIEW VICINITY MAP and GOOGLE STREET VIEW

INQUIRIES And ATTENDANCE

If you are planning to come with/as a big group (a class or delegation), please let us know the number of participants at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. It would also be best if their names could be registered online or if you could send us a list of their names.

The UP Asian Center offers M.A. programs in Asian Studies with four fields of specialization: Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and West Asia. The Center also has an M.A. program in Philippine Studies that allows students to major in Philippine society and culture, Philippine foreign relations, or Philippine development studies. The Center offers a Ph.D. program in Philippine Studies in conjunction with the College of Arts and Letters and the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy. Get an overview of these programs. The Asian Center also houses a peer-reviewed, open-access journal, Asian Studies: Journal of Critical Perspectives on Asia. It has published several books and monographs, and hosts or organizes various lectures and conferences.