The Royal Thai Consulate-General in Vancouver organized the 3rd Thai Festival in Vancouver at the North Plaza of Vancouver Art Gallery between 9-10 July 2016. Ms. Sutthiluck Sa-ngarmangkang, Consul-General of Thailand to Vancouver, delivered the opening speech to declare open the Festival with Mr. Sam Sullivan, MLA for Vancouver-False Creek, attending on behalf of the Honourable Suzanne Anton, Attorney General and Minister of Justice, representative of British Columbia as the guest of honour. The event was attended by many dignitary including H.E. Mr. Vijavat Isarabhakdi, Ambassador of Thailand to Canada, Mr. Prarop Laovanich, Secretary to the Minister of Culture of Thailand, Mr. Raj Chouhan, MLA Burnaby-Edmonds and Assistant Deputy Speaker of British Columbia, Mr. Mike Farnworth, MLA Port Coquitlam, Mr. Raymond Louie, Acting Mayor of Vancouver, Mr. Chuck Au, Councillor of Richmond, Mr. Dennis Anderson, Honorable Consul-General to Edmonton, Prof. Chaiyos Hemarajata, Chairman of RMUTP Council, Assoc. Prof. Supatra Kosaiyakanont, President of RMUTP, Directors/ representatives of Team Thailand to Canada, members of the consular corps, representatives from both public and private sectors of Canada.

            This year Thai Festival in Vancouver was specially organized to commemorate the Seventieth Anniversary Celebrations of His Majesty’s Accession to the Throne and the Celebrations on the Auspicious Occasion of Her Majesty the Queen’s 7th Cycle Birthday Anniversary 12th August 2016. In this connection, the Royal Thai Consulate-General in Vancouver set up an exhibition on the biography and Royal Initiated Projects in honour of Their Majesties the King and Queen of Thailand, all of which significantly contributed to the improvement of the Thai people’s well-being and standard of living leading to the sustainable development of the country.

              Various activities organized during the Festival to promote better understanding and cooperation between Thailand and Western part of Canada included Thai classical dances by the Ministry of Cultural of Thailand, Thai classical instrument ensemble, choral performance, Thai sword fighting, fashion show of Thai national costumes, demonstration of contemporary wears of Thai fabric, demonstration of how to prepare Thai handicrafts and Thai cuisine. In addition, there were also different kinds of promotion booths on Thai trade and tourism, Thai agricultural products, Thai food and ingredient products, as well as local Thai restaurants and spas in Vancouver and nearby cities.

              During the Festival, the Consulate-General of Thailand also presented “Thai Select” awards certified by Thai Trade Centre in Vancouver to qualified local Thai restaurants to guarantee the authenticity and quality of Thai cuisine. Other activities of the Festival were questions and answers on Thailand and the lucky draw with 2 round-trip tickets from Bangkok-Chiang Mai-Mae Hongson-Bangkok supported by Bangkok Airways as the 1st prize. Like its predecessor, this year Thai Festival was warmly welcomed and highly appreciated by more than 30,000 participants.