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

Sawasdee! The Second Thai Cultural Fair @ UP Asian Center | 25 May

Details

Have fun and discover Thai culture at Sawasdee! The Second Thai Cultural Fair on 25 May 2017, 2:00 pm to 4:30 pm, Auditorium, UP Asian Center, Quezon City. The fair is free and open to the public, participants are encouraged to sign up.

SIGN UP: ONLINE REGISTRATION

About The Fair

Audiences can walk around the venue, interact with the guests, and visit the booths that showcase the various facets of Thai culture, including the Thai New Year Festival (Songkran Festival), Thai arts and crafts, and popular Thai cuisine. 

The booths and exhibits 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. They will be showcasing three performances as well: contemporary Thai boxing (Muay Thai); the Rice Harvest Dance; and traditional Thai costume dance.

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About the Songkran Festival

A Buddhist festival and a celebration of the Thai New Year, Songkran is held in sometime in April, and signifies the start of the country’s rainy season. During this arguably Thailand’s most important holiday, Thais pray at Buddhist temples and cleanse the statues, shrines, icons, or altars therein to augur luck and prosperity for the coming year (Telegraph).The highlight of the festival is a joyful splashing event where people try to get each other wet.

Tentative Program

  • 2:10 pm - 2:45 pm: Thai Cultural Fair “Songkran Festival”
  • 3:00 pm - 3:50 pm: Cultural performances
  • 3:50 pm - 4:30 pm: Closing remarks

The Organizers

This cultural fair is organized by the UP Asian Center and the Devawongse Varopakarn Institute of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kingdom of Thailand. 

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.