The Chiang Mai Flower Festival has been an annual 3-day event for over 40 years attracting thousands of visitors from around the world. When we decided to start this round of world travel in Thailand, we had no idea our timing coincided with this popular festival. We got excited when we saw the advertisements around town and knew Chiang Mai, nicknamed “The Rose of the North” would put on an impressive display. The colorful springtime event features cultural performances, live music, street food, a park turned into a floral wonderland, a lively parade with flower-adorned floats and so much more.
We didn’t want to miss a minute of the action, so we went on the first evening for the opening ceremony. Nong Buak Haad park in the southwest corner of the Old Town is the sight of the main events. We got dropped off on the main road leading into the park that gets shut down to car traffic. The road was lined with elaborately decorated stalls decked out with gorgeous flower arrangements.
The stalls were selling local handicrafts, traditional clothing, jewelry, local food items, beautiful ornamental plants, and flowers. One vendor let us taste-test his tamarind banana chips, which are a favorite local snack of ours. These were delicious and a must-purchase.
If you got tired from all the shopping, decorated benches were provided to relax and pose amongst the beautiful blooms.
The side streets were filled with food stalls, and the aroma of sizzling Thai food wafted through the air. If you’ve read our previous blogs about Thailand, you know we are obsessed with the street food here. We love grazing our way through the streets, trying out all the delicious treats, some we know and love from past experiences, and others are new discoveries. We were excited for another culinary adventure through the diverse, mouthwatering Thailand street food scene. To start, we tried some egg bites topped with crab and shrimp, served with a tangy sweet and sour dipping sauce. Hot off the special mini-round kanon krok-style griddle, these little morsels were so good that we went back for seconds on our third day at the festival!
I also love all the exotic fruit juices in Thailand. So, we washed down our treats with Longan juice topped with lots of the whole Longan fruits. Extremely refreshing on a hot day.
The side streets also had lots of games and rides for the kids and even a haunted house.
Once in the main park, we strolled through the winding paths checking out the colorful floral displays and beautiful landscape designs. Floral fragrance filled the air. Vibrant blooms were a feast for the eyes. Thousands of flowers were presented in creative ways from larger-than-life cartoon characters to water fountain displays and floral archways.
Visiting at night was ideal because the floral displays were illuminated, and there were additional glow-in-the-dark and light-up exhibits.
The entertainment for the evening was a local band singing cover songs on the main stage.
To round out our progressive Thai street food dinner, we found some pork steamed buns and a stand whipping up pork fried rice and shrimp pad Thai on ginormous skillets. Both simple yet very satisfying, typical Thai street food.
These guys certainly put on a show to draw in the crowds and are a great representation of the smiley, courteous Thai people.
The finale of our first evening out at the flower festival was the water fountain and lights show with theme music from Pirates of the Caribbean and James Bond.
The highlight of the festival is the floral parade that takes place the following morning. The parade route starts at the Nawarat Bridge, heads to the Tha Phae gate, and then follows the moat around the southeast side of the Old Town. The moat and ancient city walls along with all the local blooming flowers provide a lovely backdrop for the parade.
Similar to the Rose Bowl parade in the US, the floats are completely covered in natural materials, such as flowers, greenery, seeds, nuts, and bark. Beautiful young men and women dressed in traditional Thai clothing sit atop the floats waving elegantly to the crowds. Many of whom are involved in the beauty pageant every year to crown the queen of the festival.
Many of the floats feature themes from Buddhism and Northern Thai Lanna culture.
The music from numerous high school marching bands added a fun, upbeat vibe to the procession. Who knew Thailand was into marching bands?!?!
Many local groups participate representing all ages from young children to older adults. We really enjoyed seeing the wide range of colorful costumes and traditional outfits and glimpses into Thai culture.
In addition to the floats and the groups on foot, other modes of transportation highlighted in the parade included carriages pulled by bikes, decorative horseback riding, and personal flower-adorned box carts.
The parade most definitely lived up to all the hype. On the final day of the festival, we went back to Nong Buck Haad Park to soak up more of the festive floral vibes and watch the cultural performances. We found groups of adorable kids showing off their swordsmanship skills and performing traditional dances.
All the flower-covered floats from the parade were lined up on the main street so admirers could get a closer look.
We were absolutely blown away by the level of detail on these floats. Seeing them up close gives you an even better idea of the level of work and artistry that goes into every square inch of the float.
Tiny seeds create the texture of the elephants’ skin and the serpent scales.
Larger seeds, black beans, and corn kernels were used to make floral patterns and elaborate designs.
Taking the time to appreciate the floats up close was the icing on the cake of a fabulous, floral weekend full of Thai tradition. The Chiang Mai Flower Festival was certainly a highlight of our time in Thailand, and we hope to come back at this time of year again.
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