Going ballistic Yasothon's traditional Boon Bang Fai Rocket Festival carries more international flavour as Malaysia has entered the fray joining Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Japan this year. The annual five-day festivity that got underway yesterday runs until May 14. Organised by the provincial administration and the Tourism Authority of Thailand, the main event involves team and individual competitions in which participants fire beautifully adorned rockets of various shapes and sizes, with winners picked on the basis of distance travelled or the time projectiles stay up in the sky. There is a parade of participating foreign teams in their national costumes and folk dances to entertain the audience. Other features include Miss Bun Bang Fai beauty pageant, colourful parades, fun fair, folk music and light and sound show. Yasothon, a farming northeastern province, holds the festival on the second weekend of May to mark the start of the annual rice growing season. The rockets are fired to sound out rain god Phaya Thaen and bless farmers with rain and bountiful harvest. For further information, call the Yasothon Information Centre at 02-571-2722 and 04-571-1093. Alternatively, you can call the Tourism Authority of Thailand at 02-250-5511. The event will be telecast live on Channel 11 starting 9am on Saturday, May 13, beginning with the official opening ceremony followed by cheerleading and other competitions, light & sound presentation. |