In Thailand, the three days between April 12th and 15th are a time of celebration. It is a time to welcome in the New Year with dancing, parades, beauty pageants, as well as cleaning their homes, offering food and flowers to the monks and pouring scented water on each other. It is also a time for enjoying all the foods that the season has to offer.
For the first time, this celebration is also taking place in the Santa Clara Valley. The first Thai New Year Celebration and Food Festival is being organized by the Thai Cultural Organization and will be a celebration of Thai culture and the new year. The performances will include Thai Folk and Classical dancing, Thai boxing, as well as Thai music, arts and crafts. There will also be a variety of Thai traditional holiday foods such as mangos with sticky rice, bananas in coconut milk, fresh coconut ice cream, as well as barbecue, Thai fried noodles, satay and red, yellow and green curry.
Erin Kimura
