Phasakorn Channgam
More than 5,000 people are expected to attend Pattaya’s
annual Vegetarian Festival Sept. 26 - Oct. 6 at the Sawang Boriboon
Thammasathan Foundation in Naklua.
As in previous years, the highlight will be the
vegetarian cooking, parades and popular entertainment.
The festival will feature a Chinese dragon parade and
processions of Chinese gods. The opening day will feature the cooking of
“heavenly fried noodles with 8 kinds of seasoning” in a giant skillet. The
dish - made of 400 kilos of noodles and 8 lucky ingredients, including
chestnut, lotus seeds, bell peppers, ginkgo and cashew nuts, shiitake
mushrooms, dried bean curd and vegetarian seasoning - will be passed out to
thousands of revelers, many dressed in white to honor the end of the
Buddhist Lent season.
The festival kicks off with a “heaven and earth” ceremony
at 9:19 a.m. Sept. 26, followed by a parade at 12:29 p.m. from Bali Hai Pier
to Naklua, stopping to stage a Chinese dragon show at Mike Shopping Mall.
Another ceremony follows, with the official food exhibits beginning at 4
p.m.
