On Thursday 3 September 2009, at 7.00 p.m. the 8th Thai Festival was official opened at the Royal Thai Embassy. Mrs. Lim Hwee Hua, Minister to The Prime Minister Office and Second Minister of Finance and Second Minister of Transport, graced the occasion as Guest of Honour. Other guests  to the opening ceremony, totalling about 200, included senior officials, both military and civilian, prominent businessmen, members of the diplomatic corps, the Thai community and "Friends of Thailand".

The objectives of organizing the Thai Festival are  to promote Thai culture and art, tourism, products, particularly handicraft, fruits and food, services, such as message and spa among Singaporeans and foreigners living in Singapore in order to create "Thailand Branding".  It is a platform for Thai small and medium enterprises to introduce their products to Singaporeans and open the door to further export of Thai products and services to Singapore.  It is also an opportunity for Singaporean and expats as well as visitors  to sample the best of Thailand and to enjoy the atmosphere of ourdoor fair in one of the most famous shopping and tourist areas of Singapore by featuring restaurants, spas and companies selling Thai products at special prices.  Moreover, it is hoped that the Festival will help enhance understanding about Thailand among the peoples of Singapore and other friendly countries residing or visiting Singapore, thereby further strengthening friendship and cooperation.

In his welcome speech, Ambassador Nopadol Gunavibool pointed out that the presence of Minister Lim, senior military officers, officials from various agencies, top businessmen as well as our diplomatic colleagues is testimony to the close bonds of friendship and cooperation between Thailand and Singapore as well as other friendly countries. He stressed that this year’s theme is “Experience the Variety of Our Four Regions”. By organinzing the layout into the 4 regions of Thailand, namely the North, Northeast, Central and South, the visitors would learn and enjoy the unique culture of each region. There would be various activities to introduce the highlights of its handicrafts, food and tourism. Many products on sale this year have been selected from the "One Tambon One Product" Programme, in which each Tambon (sub-district) specializes in one product to ensure the best from a particular locality.  He also informed the guests that it would be the last time the Thai Festival be held in the Embassy's front lawn, because very soon the reconstruction of the Embassy buildings would begin.  For full text of the Ambassador's speech, please click here.

Minister Lim Hwee Hua, in her speech, described the warm friendship and close relations between Thailand and Singapore in all fields. She expressed satisfaction that the exchanges of visits al all levels, particulartly the official visit to Singapore of HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn at the invitation of President S.R. Nathan in April 2009,  underscored the closed ties at the highest level. The visit of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva in June 2009 also reaffirmed the strength of bilateral relations.  She also noted close cooperation at both regional (ASEAN APEC) and other fora, as well as bilateral which cuts across many fields including justice, education, health, defence, trade and investment, etc.  This year in October the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore will host 9th Civil Service Exchange Programme and the Ministry of Trade and Insustry will host 3rd Singapore-Thailand Enhanced Economic Relaitions, which are two important  cooperation  frameworks.  She also pointed out that the people-to-people contacts have risen steadily over the years with the two-way traffic of peoples and tourists from both sides totalling amost 0ne million last year. For full text of the Minister's speech, please click here.

After her speech, the Guest of Honour and the Ambassador struck the gong 3 times to signal the opening of the Thai Festival. The Guest of Honour also drew prizes for the guests at the opening ceremonoy with dining vouchers given out to dignitaries who were present. She also showed interest in various kinds of products form the 4 regions of Thailand during her visit to the stalls. 

Apart from Thai food, wine and beer, the guests to the opening ceremony enjoyed the festive atmosphere with several traditional cultural shows performed by professional cultural troupe flown in from Bangkok specially for this occasion and the "Blessing Dance" performed by Thai children who attend traditional dance lessons at Wat Anand Metyarama.

The evening was rounded off by music performance, which was open to the general public to enjoy the beer garden atmosphere. Thai pop and country music was performed by the band from "Thai Disco".

Examples of some of the booths at the 8^th Thai Festival

   

• Examples of products on sale: handicrafts & toys made of bamboo, bracelets, key chains, hill tribe purses and shoulder bags.
   
• What the shop owner (Ms. Prapai kuenlom) said: 
  “I have been participating in the Thai Festival at this embassy nearly every year and I can see that this year’s Thai Festival is so much better organized with a much wider range of products available for visitors to choose from. Clearly, this Festival is very successful judging from the number of visitors I have seen. Most of my customers are foreign tourists in Singapore as well as the locals. My children toys are the best selling products this year, compared to all other products that I have chosen to showcase here. I would definitely love to come back again next year."

2. Dbest First Product Co.,Ltd  (93 Lardprao soi 109 Klongchan, Bangkapi Bangkok 10240 Tel +6627311037 Handphone:+66897886795 Website: www.madefromherb.com E-mail : abest_service@yahoo.com)

• Examples of products on sale: Thai herbal spa products (such as facial wash, body lotion, lipstick)
   
• What the shop owner (khun Kitima Chantabenjapat) said: 
  “This is the first time I participate in the Thai Festival organized by the Royal Thai Embassy in Singapore. I feel my products have been very well received by those who visit this Festival, particularly the Singaporeans and the Japanese ladies. All my spa products are made from natural ingredients and have already sold well in Thailand. But by participating in this Festival, I feel that there is definitely a good prospect for my spa products to do well in Singapore. I am delighted to have been given an opportunity to participate in this very well-organized Festival.”
  
   

  

                                                                                                                                                                   
3. Teeta Natural Indigo Dyes Group (1 Moo 14, Tambon Na Hua Bor, Sakolnakorn, 472200, Email: praphaiphan_in@hotmail.com)
      
         

• Examples of products on sale: Clothes, hats, scarves.
   
• What the shop owner (khun Phaphaiphan Daengchai) said: 
  “I have participated in the Thai Festival here several times in the past. Most of my customers are people whom I met in the past years and they are still in touch with us so they came back to visit our booth once again this year. My products are all traditional textile products which have been naturally dyed. My most famous products are indigo-dyed cotton clothes. For many people, indigo is believed to be a difficult dye to use.  Certainly the preparation of the dye vat needs special care and accuracy, but once you know how to use it, indigo is the simplest and quickest of dyes. The type of indigo plant that we use is locally known as Kraam (or indigofera tinctoria). Everything has been made using only natural ingredients… I feel that this year’s Thai Festival has received many more visitors compared to last year and this is definitely good for us.”