Every year in January, the village of Bo Sang in Chiang Mai Province holds the Bo Sang Umbrella Festival, one of the most interesting festivals in Thailand, which celebrates the making and selling of gorgeous hand-made, hand-painted paper umbrellas. This year’s celebration was the best I’ve ever seen. From workshops that allowed participants to make their own umbrellas; to demonstrations of making Saa Paper (from the bark of Mulberry trees); to food booths galore, to the miles-long parade that featured marching bands, women from all the surrounding villages dressed in their beautiful traditional phasing outfits, and massive floats decked out in umbrellas and flowers, the event was a kaleidoscopic wonder. Yesterday was the first day of the Bo Sang Umbrella Festival (January 16), but it lasts for two more days throughout this weekend.
Thanks for sharing that video of the parade. It was somuch like I was right ther!
You have many interesting experiences through all of your travels.
I hope you are able to continue travelling !
Hi Irene: You are so welcome. Do you know you are one of my most faithful readers? I always love hearing from you. The Bo Sang Umbrella Festival is one of my most favorite village festivals in Thailand and I was delighted to be able to capture it in video this year.
I didn’t know Bo Sang Umbrella had a festival in January, Barbara!!! Great to know! For 3 years in a row I had a 3-tiered umbrella shipped to my home, choosing a different colour each year. I like to put them out if I’m having a summer get together, as it sets the ambiance and show of colour! Loved your video! I will see you in 2027!
Hi Crystal! Yes, the Bo Sang Umbrella Festival is one of my favorite village festivals in all of Thailand. If you’re here in January next year, perhaps we can go together.
Loved and enjoyed the video immensely thank you so much for sharing
Hi Julia: So glad you enjoyed my Bo Sang Umbrella Festival video. It’sone of my favorite village festivals in Thailand.
Interesting, Barbara! I’m a friend of Larry Bosco’s; I believe we met a few years back when we were staying at Smith. The last few years I’ve opted for a more central location, Eurana Boutique, between Moon Muang soi 6 and 7, and the price for the old building is just 10,000 baht a month. Anyway, I’ve been here since the 29th of December, heading home on the 22nd at midnight. It’s been a good stay. I enjoyed reading about the Umbrella festival but surprised that there’s absolutely nothing mentioned around town, or on any of the FB groups I belong to. It’s Sunday now and while it appears from your article that it’s still happening today, it’s not part of my plan. Maybe next year I’ll be prepared to visit. I don’t know if this is something you’ve already covered or if it’s even something you’d be interested in, but I just discovered the ice bath/sauna world here in CNX. I’d heard of one called Bliss, inside Condotel 4 on Huay Kaew towards Maya, but while there one of the guys mentioned Old City Spa, which I visited the next day. OMG it is absolutely WONDERFUL! Three different types of sauna, two ice bath tubs, a hot tub, all wrapped up in a very sweet, attractive and clean oasis in the middle of Old City. It was a 20 minutes brisk walk from my hotel. Not only was it an incredibly healing two hours (450 baht for all) but it’s a very easy social experience. Sitting around in a sauna for as long as you can stand it, you make friends you’ll never see again, but you’ll enjoy that moment immensely. Maybe you’ve covered this already, or maybe it’s not the kind of event/activity that’s up your alley. I’m just sorry I discovered it so late in my trip. PS Glad to see you’re still blogging, I hadn’t seen anything from you lately. Stay well!
Hi Mindy: Yes, I still blog occasionally. At 73 I’ve scaled back my writing (though not my travel, thank goodness). But once in a while I get the itch to publish. Glad you enjoyed my article and video about the Bo Sang Umbrella Festival. I’ve attended several times and am always astonished that it’s not better known. It’s a great little festival. Hopefully, you’ll go next year. As for the sauna tip, I may check it out. I’m not a big fan of saunas because I can only tolerate the heat for so long, but it might be interesting to try it again. Sorry I didn’t read your comment until today. My sister is visiting frm the U.S. and we just returned from Singapore yesterday. Next year, if y ou have time, we should meet up!