Bo Sang Umbrella Festival – An Offbeat Festival to Attend in Thailand

A flash of red here, a dash of yellow there. The gentle lilt of Lanna music fills the air and the aroma of Thai street food fills the nostrils. Umbrellas and parasols in all the colours of the rainbow adorn street signs and decorate shop fronts to welcome you to the Bo Sang Umbrella Festival.

Usually held on the third weekend in January, the Bo Sang Umbrella and Sankhampaeng Crafts Festival began in the 1980s and is now a well-established fixture on Thailand’s festival calendar. Although the Bo Sang Umbrella Festival is one of the smaller events on that calendar it’s also one of the most relaxed. Despite the proximity to Chiang Mai, the lack of publicity about the Bo Sang event means that not many overseas tourists make the short trip out of the city to experience it.

Food is always high up on the list of priorities at any social event in Thailand and the Bo Sang Umbrella Festival is no different. Families gather at roadside restaurants in the morning and early afternoon to watch the parade of bicycles riding past. Later in the day, the main street in Bo Sang is closed to traffic and a lively market quickly springs to life.

Timings of events in Thailand tend to be flexible, but this is how the Bo Sang Umbrella Festival has unfolded in recent years:

·       Parade of bicycles with ladies holding umbrellas: Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 9.30am, 11am, 1pm and 2pm

·       Official opening ceremony: Friday at 7pm

·       Walking Street Market: Saturday and Sunday from 3pm onwards

·       Musical and cultural performances on stage: Friday, Saturday and Sunday from approximately 7pm onwards

According to folklore, Bo Sang owes its umbrella heritage to a local monk, ‘Phra Inthaa’. The dates are vague, but an inscription on a statue of the monk in Bo Sang says he lived ‘hundreds of years ago’.

Sadly, the old skills are under threat. Although Bo Sang and Sankamphaeng are popular stop-off for tourists looking for handicrafts and local souvenirs, the number of artisans with the ability to make the umbrellas is dwindling. Making bamboo umbrellas by hand is a laborious process and the pay is low. With better paying jobs available in the city, the younger generation are less inclined to carry on the old traditions.

Don’t just visit Thailand, Explore It!