Pattaya : Events, Activities & Festivals
Evening Activities
What Pattaya might lack in sophistication tends to be compensated by variety, and many night spots feature innovative highly entertaining shows. One of the best known entertainment venues is Tiffany's transvestite cabaret, where unbelievably glamorous participants put on splendid expertly choreographed performances. Pattaya has an excellent choice of restaurants of all types, from the modest to the magnificent.
Events & Festivals
The fertile fields of the neighbouring provinces make for delightful fruit festival generally held in May.
The increasingly popular Pattaya Marathon (details from TAT) is held annually in July in three categories: Full Marathon (42.195 kms) Half Marathon (21.10 kms) and Quarter Marathon (10.55 kms) and is open to all.
One unusual event is the annual Buffalo Races held in October at Chonburi, 40 kms north of Pattaya.
Pattaya's Songkran Festival
The traditional Thai New Year or Songkran day which is locally called Wan Lai, is annually celebrated on 19 and 20 April, though elsewhere in the country the festival falls on 13 April. The activities in the festival include throwing water at each other for enjoyment, beauty contests, colourful processions, folk plays, and paying respect to the seniors of the family by pouring water on their hands.
Pattaya Carnival
To promote tourism in the area, Pattaya Carnival is held annually around the end or the beginning of the year at Pattaya Pier, Bali Hai Cape. At the event, a spectacular float of flora, beauty pageant, cultural shows and music performances as well as various exciting water sports competitions take place. Fireworks are also displayed on the beach.
Pattaya International Music Festival
Starting in 2002, Pattaya International Music Festival is held in March each year. On stages, enjoy several styles of music performed by both Thai and international artists. Usually, the event lasts from 18.00 to 24.00 hrs.
Pattaya Vegetarian Festival
Every year Pattaya City celebrates the 11-day vegetarian season with enormous amounts of special vegetarian food which should be enough for about 5,500 participants and a grand procession carrying two statues of Chinese deities -- Kiew Uang Huk Jo and Kuanyin Bodhisattava. The procession will make its way around the city and end at Sawang Boribun Dhamma Sathan. All interested people are welcome (please dress in white).
In November, The Pattaya Festival comes complete with floral floats, sport events, beauty contests, market stalls and a plethora of carnival-like activities, exhibitions, cultural performances, plus a spectacular display of fireworks on the beach and The delightful Loy Krathong festival, celebrated nation-wide on the full moon night in November, pays respect to nature when Thais and tourists alike float banana-leaf "krathong" on the sea or rivers.
