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Fortitude Valley hosts many music and cultural events throughout the year and among them is the Songkran or the Thai New Year by the Brisbane City Council.
Everyone is free to join the event on 13 April 2019 from 4:00 pm – 9:00 pm at the Chinatown Mall in Duncan Street, where there will be a range of activities that will showcase the cultures of Thailand and South East Asia.
Before the event officially starts at 4:20 pm, market stalls will already be open for visitors. There will be henna tattoo workshops and Thai head and shoulder massage to keep everyone entertained before the shows start.
Songkran will begin with a klong-yao performance or a long drum dance from Central Thailand. Thais perform this unique dance on all festive occasions such as weddings and monk ordination ceremonies.
Like how Songkran is celebrated in Thailand, the opening ceremony will be followed by a traditional water blessing ceremony which signifies the ‘washing away of bad thoughts and actions.’
You can discover more of Thailand’s rich culture with performances like the Junior Thai traditional dance, Songkran music, the King Ka-La dance, a dance drama called the Khon show, Wai Kru Muay Thai traditional dance, and a demonstration of authentic Muay Thai or Muay Boran.
Apart from traditional dances and art from Thailand, you will also get to see performances from its neigbouring Asian countries, including the Laos New Year dance, Assamese folk dance, Sinhalese dance, and Sri Lankan traditional Wes dance.
The festival will end will a performance from the Full Moon Band, who will sing Thai pop music.