Click HERE for 2009 Thai Town Festival Details
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The Fifth Annual Thai New Year Day Songkran Festival was celebrated in East Hollywood on Sunday, April 13th, 2008 from 8am till 7pm along Hollywood Blvd. between Western and Normandie.
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SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
8:00 a.m. Start of 5K Run/Walk
9:30 a.m. Buddhist Ceremonies Begin
10:00 a.m. The selling of voting ballots for Curry King
11:00 a.m. Singha Presents: Tommy Tang Cooking Demonstration
Noon Thai New Year Parade
1:00 p.m. Opening Ceremony
3:00 p.m. Curry Demonstration by Star Chef Jet Tila
4:00 p.m. Final Round of the Miss Thai New Year’s USA Contest
Winner of Curry King Title Announced
Draw Curry Festival Raffle Tickets
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What makes this festival one of the Top 10 festivals in Southern California?
ADMISSION IS FREE
The money in your wallet can go towards that one-of-a-kind gift.
AUTHENTICITY
This is the largest Thai festival in the United States. It is a celebration of the Thai culture for people of Thai decent living in the US that we can all take part in. On April 13th, Hollywood Boulevard will transform into a Bangkok street.
THE FOOD
There will be an abundance of traditional Thai dishes including pad thai, satay, and mango with sticky rice. This year also marks the beginning of the International Curry Festival.
THE BIRTH OF THE INTERNATIONAL CURRY FESTIVAL
The first instance of the Annual International Curry Festival will celebrate curry in all its forms. Curry transcends culture. Although originally from India, other cultures including Thailand and Japan have created national dishes flavored with curry.
More from Thai CDC:
Not only will the Thai curry be the super star that day, all kinds of curry related products, regardless of their national origins, shape, color, spice level, texture will be worshipped. All the international curry products will also have a chance to compete for the CURRY KING title. In this event people can try different kind of curry dishes, desserts, and snacks that are made with curry. In addition to that, the participants can learn how to make easy and flavorsome curry dishes and desserts demonstrated by star chef Jet Tila and others. People will also find unique and special curry ingredients from around the world that they have never seen and tasted before.
THE VARIETY OF THINGS TO DO
Over 175 booths, two main stages and a boxing ring will give you many ways to sample Thai culture.
Highlights: Thai water blessing (from 8am till 9am), Vendors selling Thai handicrafts, Muay Thai Boxing, a community parade, the Thai Traditional Attire Fashion Show, craft areas for the kids, Thai classical and folk dances, live music, the Singha Beer Garden, Miss Thai Town New Year USA beauty contest, Jonas and Kristy, intricate fruit carving demonstrations, free health screenings, and the 5k Run/Walk.
A 47-SECOND WALK FROM THE METRO RED LINE
HOLLYWOOD/WESTERN STOP
Use public transportation to the festival and skip the headache of searching for a parking space. Another option is to take the free shuttle from the large Hollywood Kaiser Permanente parking lot.
A CHANCE TO SPEAK THAI TO A CAPTIVE AUDIENCE
Say “sa-wat-di pi mai” (happy new year) to everyone you meet. You can also try “krai kai kai kai” which means “who sells chicken eggs?”. Click here for some more basic Thai phrases.
For more information:
http://thaicdchome.org/cms/la-curry-festival/ (in English)
www.thainewyear.com (in Thai language)
