Pattaya turns “white” for a day as city leaders wrap up a month-long program to bring students, parents and community members together to form tighter bonds.
Central Festival Pattaya Beach hosts the “Pattaya White” event Aug 30, where students will compete in performing arts contests and a young “Pattaya White Ambassador” will be chosen.
Eschewing the color-coded politics that have scarred Thailand’s societal landscape for years, city hall launched the “Pattaya White” project at Pattaya School No. 7 July 6, inviting 600 students, community leaders, parents and school officials to paint on a white wall, take photos and share them on Facebook, and enjoy musical and dance performances by students.
Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome (center), along with relevant officials and celebrities, launches the Pattaya White campaign at Central Festival Pattaya Beach.
City officials say the goal of the program is to bring community members closer, strengthen families and encourage all residents to use their free time productively, learn the value of education and develop a balanced and sustainable community.
In follow-up activities, students took Drug Abuse Resistance Education courses, became “nature” leaders and joined community residents in cleaning up Walking Street.
The final “big event” today will see finalists from school-based singing and dancing contests compete to be the next “Pattaya star,” with one student becoming the “Pattaya White Ambassador.”
“This project is to show the unity from all sectors showing their determination to perform activities to build a better society,” Pattaya Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome said at an Aug. 20 pre-event press conference. “It will help inspire youths to organize talent contests and people will become more aware to protect their communities.”
