Deputy Mayor Wattana
Chantanawaranon presides over a planning meeting for the upcoming
Father’s Day celebrations.
Urasin Khantaraphan
Pattaya officials have begun planning for HM the King’s 87th
birthday celebration, which will feature parades, monk ordinations and
fireworks.
Events kick off Dec. 1, four days before Father’s Day, with a naga
parade running through the entire city. The procession will begin on
North Road, traveling to Beach Road to Walking Street and back to the
Dolphin Roundabout along Second Road. The parade then moves up Naklua
Road, right onto Swang Fa Road and then left onto Sukhumvit Road, ending
at Jittapawan College.
The parade will be held without closing streets, as the parade will
occupy only one lane.
The following day, the ordination process begins with parents of those
seeking to become novices presenting robes at the college. Mayor
Itthiphol Kunplome will ordain all the novices at Phutivaram Nong Yai,
Swangfapruekthara, and Thamsamakkee temples, before the novices head
back to Jittapawan College on Dec. 10 to study dharma.
The first 88 to apply will be accepted with others put on a waiting
list. Registration begins on Nov. 21 during office hours at city hall.
On HM the King’s Dec. 5 birthday, a Father’s Day walk/run will start at
3 p.m. at the Tourism Authority of Thailand office on Pratamnak Hill,
ending at the same point.
At 4 p.m., people will gather for the official Father’s Day parade,
which will march down Beach Road from Royal Garden Plaza to Bali Hai
Pier. The parade moves at 5:15 p.m.
At 5:30 p.m., the celebration begins with performances from Pattaya
students, Itthiphol will then take the stage to lead a performance by
Pattaya School No. 11’s marching band, followed by the presentation of
flower cones before a portrait of His Majesty.
Anthems will be played, candles will be lit and the event will close
with fireworks.
