An International Festival For Chiang Mai At Last!

[brightonb]

Someone has (finally) had the courage to launch a first-ever International Festival for Chiang Mai, which hopes to achieve something like Edinburgh's success in future years. It will rely initially on the support of Chiang Mai's foreign community who are being invited to take (free) booths to represent their home country, showcase their culture, wear their national dress, sell their products and put on shows. Venue is Ratchapruek (site of Royal Flora 2006) Date: 14th - 17th Feb 2008.

Event will dovetail with a hot-air balloon 'Weddings in the Air' Valentine Day record attempt. Organisers hope for over 300,000 visitors during the festival.

Web site:http://www.chiangmaiheritage.com

[cm-happy]

sounds like a mini world's fair. should be interesting and help out with CM's tourism industry.

[BlackArtemis]

Wait, they want to be like the fringe festival? That's the krabi/phuket crowd. I could see the Thai locals just loving all that comes along with the fringe festival...

But if it's not aiming for that kind of show, then great! I wish it luck.

[L&J]

Let me first provide a quote:

"The Chiang Mai Festival could ideally be a cross between two internationally renowned events-

The Hong Kong Festival and the Edinburgh Festival. Chiang Mai is in many ways an ideal location

for holding an event of this type. It would be an opportunity for international and local performances

to take place concurrently"

Planning such event should take some time and a great deal of preparation to insure that the

300-500,000 visitors projected are not totally disappointed and it destroys any potential to do this

kind of event in the future.

Unfortunately I might want to question how much planning has gone into this as apparently

the organizers are expecting the local international community to put together the whole show.

Over the six months we've lived here there has been evidence of the local community support

for some events but nothing to match the scale of effort needed to pull off something like

this event in the next two months.

By the way the quote provided above was from September, 1995 (Chiang Mai Newsletter-now CITYLIFE),

so the idea is hardly novel and my guess is that the last twelve years have not been involved in planning this

event. Sincerely would love to see this work but experience has shown that a poor attempt

will destroy the concept for at least another twelve years.

[WaiWai]

Sounds utterly appalling to me !

Out of interest, what would the Aussies wear ?

[Donnyboy]

Someone has (finally) had the courage to launch a first-ever International Festival for Chiang Mai, which hopes to achieve something like Edinburgh's success in future years. It will rely initially on the support of Chiang Mai's foreign community who are being invited to take (free) booths to represent their home country, showcase their culture, wear their national dress, sell their products and put on shows. Venue is Ratchapruek (site of Royal Flora 2006) Date: 14th - 17th Feb 2008.

Event will dovetail with a hot-air balloon 'Weddings in the Air' Valentine Day record attempt. Organisers hope for over 300,000 visitors during the festival.

Web site:http://www.chiangmaiheritage.com

theres no way you'll get me in a grass skirt waving a spear and poking my tongue out

[Donnyboy]

Sounds utterly appalling to me !

Out of interest, what would the Aussies wear ?

most of them will be busy

[mcgriffith]

Nice skirt, DB....

Little less mascara on the eyebrows, and you'll be good to go.....

[Greenside]

Someone has (finally) had the courage to launch a first-ever International Festival for Chiang Mai, which hopes to achieve something like Edinburgh's success in future years. It will rely initially on the support of Chiang Mai's foreign community who are being invited to take (free) booths to represent their home country, showcase their culture, wear their national dress, sell their products and put on shows. Venue is Ratchapruek (site of Royal Flora 2006) Date: 14th - 17th Feb 2008.

Event will dovetail with a hot-air balloon 'Weddings in the Air' Valentine Day record attempt. Organisers hope for over 300,000 visitors during the festival.

Web site:http://www.chiangmaiheritage.com

I don't usually do negative posts but this is about the stupidest thing I ever heard of and sadly typifies the half baked approach to events around here. Suddenly, seven weeks (more like six if you take Christmas/New Year out of the equation) they expect as yet unrecruited groups of people to put together "International" class booths for visitors who will be hyped into thinking that they're going to see some kind of professional presentations of culture? Not only that but I hear from someone there recently that Ratchapruek is showing serious signs of neglect.

Do me a favour, these kinds of events take a minimum of 6 months to a year to plan if they're going to have any real chance of success and there's no more certain way to doom this one (which might have been fun in some kind of perverse way) for the future than making the first one a sure-fire disaster. I sincerely hope no-one got paid for this level of incompetancy.

[SoloFlyer]

somebody got bribed???

[Greenside]

Here's a quote from the offical application form.......

1. The project shall be known as the “The Chiang Mai International Heritage Festival 2008” The Organisers, Earth Wind & Fire Company Limited, reserve the right to change this name at a later stage, e.g. if it is deemed advisable for promotional or other purposes.

Hmmmm, why might you want to change your company name.....?

[Pantip]

Your quite right - at least 6 months is requited to plan and organize such an event for it to be successful. I suppose one of us Australians could dress up as an Aborigine and play the didgeridoo but the trouble is a lot of us are in Oz with our grand kids and won’t be back in CM till mid Jan. I have a feeling that the organizers meant February 2009??

Edited December 20, 2007 by Pantip

[L&J]

It is always fairly transparent when you see a post about a new restaurant, bar or in this case

event by a poster who joins Thaivisa that same day and that is their initial post. Have a lot of

confidence that that person had anything to do with CM prior to trying to promote themselves

through this website.

Found it curious the other day to find the couple being indicted in California for bribing the

Thai official to get the contract for the Bangkok Film Festival. Then it occurred to me from

my past experiences that no matter how unsuccessful an event might be that the "promoters"

got their money upfront and were long gone before the event even took place.

This "International Festival for Chiang Mai" appears to be a prime candidate for just

such a grab and go event. My guess it will hurt Chiang Mai's image immeasurably more than

it will help it.

[Greenside]

Then it occurred to me from my past experiences that no matter how unsuccessful an event might be that the "promoters"

got their money upfront and were long gone before the event even took place.

.....and with a quick change of name can be back in business in no time at all.

Probably the saddest thing here is the money that is being spent so casually is the taxes paid by ordinary Thais which could be used for so many worthwhile and desparately needed improvements to the city.

[Greenside]

Oops! Sorry about the desperate spelling above.

I hadn't clocked that the OP was on his/her first post and just how close to the organisers Brightonb obviously is. Despite the hard time given them on here, maybe they'd be good enough to come back and explain a bit more about this event and just why it is that we're only just being made aware of it now. On their website they repeatedly stress that there is no need for the cultural presentations to be "professional" but it seems clear to me that none of them understand the amount of work involved in putting together something acceptable, let alone entertaining, for public consumption.

Brightonb, please come back and tell us if you think the reaction here has been unwarranted and why.

[PlaShadow]

Someone has (finally) had the courage to launch a first-ever International Festival for Chiang Mai, which hopes to achieve something like Edinburgh's success in future years. It will rely initially on the support of Chiang Mai's foreign community who are being invited to take (free) booths to represent their home country, showcase their culture, wear their national dress, sell their products and put on shows. Venue is Ratchapruek (site of Royal Flora 2006) Date: 14th - 17th Feb 2008.

Event will dovetail with a hot-air balloon 'Weddings in the Air' Valentine Day record attempt. Organisers hope for over 300,000 visitors during the festival.

Web site:http://www.chiangmaiheritage.com

6 weeks to go! Plenty of time to man the UK booth.

[PlaShadow]

This is absolutely comical

See here: http://www.chiangmaiheritage.com-a.googlep....com/conditions

CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION

FOR INTERNATIONAL BOOTH EXHIBITORS

9. If more than one application is received and accepted for a particular country, the Exhibitors will be invited to form a working group, elect a "Booth Leader" and plan the booth as a joint effort, pooling available resources, creativity and expertise. There will be a maximum number of individual applicants accepted to operate one booth, and preference will apply on a first-come-first-served basis.

The organizers are going to get all this done in 6 weeks, wow…….

13. Exhibitors must arrange/rehearse one (or more if you wish!) entertainment act on each of the 3 evenings which represents their country such as song, dance, comedy, mime, drama, poetry, etc., to be performed on an elevated stage. The emphasis will be on a spirit of joyful & willing participation, not on professionalism or artistry. You absolutely do not need to be a star (although with the media present - you might become one!)

20-30 min. of Russian drama poetry would probably be a great hit!

15. The playing of audio-visual equipment is permitted, but must be kept at a volume which is not intrusive to neighbouring booths.

Is this for real?

19. Whilst every possible care of exhibits will be taken, and security guards will operate round the clock, the Organisers accept no responsibility for either loss or damage to booth materials belonging to the Exhibitors. It is also understood that the Organisers cannot be held responsible for accidents or injuries incurred by Exhibitors or visitors of any kind occurring during the duration of the Festival.

Of course, never accept any responsibility, what so ever !

[WaiWai]

13. Exhibitors must arrange/rehearse one (or more if you wish!) entertainment act on each of the 3 evenings which represents their country such as song, dance, comedy, mime, drama, poetry, etc., to be performed on an elevated stage. The emphasis will be on a spirit of joyful & willing participation, not on professionalism or artistry. You absolutely do not need to be a star (although with the media present - you might become one!)

20-30 min. of Russian drama poetry would probably be a great hit!

The man stood on the burning deck ...

[p1p]

Why does this level of incompetence fail to surprise me here? Its so sad.

Fifteen or so years ago we had to book in January to reserve a place at the Edinburgh Festival in August. Only way to get a decent venue.

[PlaShadow]

Why does this level of incompetence fail to surprise me here? Its so sad.

Fifteen or so years ago we had to book in January to reserve a place at the Edinburgh Festival in August. Only way to get a decent venue.

But the interesting thing is that this company http://balloon.wind-and-fire.com/home.htm is organizing this.

Who is behind this?

The organizers are The Earth Wind and Fire Company Limited who have a strong long-term commitment to promoting Chiang Mai as a premier international destination. The Festival is being arranged jointly with the high profile "Weddings in the Air" event on 14th February when fourteen couples will be married aboard hot air balloons. http://www.chiangmaiheritage.com/faq

I had somehow thought that anyone flying hot air balloons had to be a bit ABOVE this kind of crappy planning.

By the way, I think the idea is great and could work, and a bit surprised this company had not posted or contacted TV for tips from readers or possible participation.

[WaiWai]

Please not !

Last thing we need.

[cmsally]

It would be more plausible if the date were Feb. 2009.

But Feb 2008 - please get serious, someone needs a reality check.

[tijnebijn]

I don't expect to much from it anyway .

[p1p]

Just change the date to 1st April...

[realthaideal]

Well, for better or for worse, I've got to put in my 2 cents' worth here. Yes, it's a super-tight schedule and maybe asking for trouble to plan and announce something like this without adequate planning time, but the point is that it's going to take place whether we are naysayers or not. I had the pleasure of accidentally meeting the lovely lady who is trying to coordinate all of this and she was actually hoping for more open-mindedness about the whole International Festival from the TV Expat community. I explained why we dumped on it. But then she was fair in addressing those points.: Are things rushed and is the coming deadline for entry (Jan 15th) and then the actual festival too close for comfort ? Yes, but don't blame her. She and some other very dedicated people are working for free to help pull this thing off. And after speaking to her, I'm thinking it might actually work in a Thai sort of way.

They will have this marriage-in-the-sky thing going on in Hot Air Balloons, and apparently Guinness Book of WOrld Records will be there for the Valentine's Day event. It will also be a giant media frenzy. And somehow, given Thai media advertising channels we aren't a part of as Farang, they expect up to 500,000 ppl to show up over the three days. Can it happen ? I dunno, but the ppl behind it are just jumping in and giving it a shot. Be on the lookout for the Thai bus coordination and throngs from other provinces. A rocky start maybe, but they're going for it.

Anybody who thinks they want to open a booth, you only have till the 15th Jan to apply (normal application closing date), but they will give you free booth space to go and sell your product or whatever you wanna do in your booth. Follow the link above from previous posts for more info on how to do that. They've managed to pull together some major sponsorship for this thing and are going to advertise the heck out of it. Like the TAT, Mastercard, Mercedes Benz, a bunch of biggies. If you wanna get out there and meet ppl and sell things you make, or import from your country of origin, this is your big chance to give it a go.

The lady to speak to is named Ram and you can reach her by email: pr at chiangmaiheritage dot com

And well, we'll just have to go have a look-see at how all this turns out in Feb, won't we ?

[Greenside]

.....maybe asking for trouble to plan and announce something like this without adequate planning time....

I don't think "maybe" is an appropriate word in this context. "Definitely" springs to mind.

It will also be a giant media frenzy. And somehow, given Thai media advertising channels we aren't a part of as Farang, they expect up to 500,000 ppl to show up over the three days. Can it happen ? I dunno, but the ppl behind it are just jumping in and giving it a shot. Be on the lookout for the Thai bus coordination and throngs from other provinces. A rocky start maybe, but they're going for it.

I've no doubt that they will spend a fortune and get loads of people but the impression I got from the organisers' website (and if it's not their fault the announcement's so late then they should have turned the idea down) was that the punters will be expecting some kind of festival in addition to the balloon event which might in itself be fun. I'm sure they'll be plenty of coverage but as the first of a hoped for series of Festivals I suspect only a miracle could let it live up to the hype unless they expect that 500,000 people were going to visit just for the Valentine's stunt?

Maybe it's just the EW&F website that gave me the impression that the festival part of the event is important but perhaps the stuff we were invited to participate in was just a minor sideshow and no-one will miss it. For the sake of the event I hope that's it.

They've managed to pull together some major sponsorship for this thing and are going to advertise the heck out of it. Like the TAT, Mastercard, Mercedes Benz, a bunch of biggies.

By telling them what? That's it's going to be like the Edinburgh Festival? I'm not clear if the sponsors are staging shows of some sort or are they just stumping up cash to get people along to the event where obviously they'll be advertising heavily. You'd be pretty disappointed to travel all the way from Sukhothai to find that half the "attraction" was a bunch of multinationals' pushing the same old stuff.

And well, we'll just have to go have a look-see at how all this turns out in Feb, won't we ?

I'll be there. And despite this rant I don't wish them ill, it's just the waste of a good opportunity for whatever reason that gets me depressed. That, and the implication that because we don't all just drop everything, don national dress and get out there on stage we're somehow letting the side down. And no, they haven't said that yet but if it is less than sucessful you can bet that someone will.

I'm sorry RTD, I'm not down on the concept and I'm certainly all for using the Flora Showground (see my recent enthusiastic post) but the attempt and timing to get the expat community (at least the way it was done here) on board deserve the reception it got. I can see you're just trying to give them a fairer crack of the whip but if your friend's explanation of why it was done this way was mitigating to any degree then a response on this thread (there was an invitation) might have gone some way to regaining folk's sympathy and confidence.

[anonymouse]

Ha, I've just noticed 'The Earth Wind and Fire Company Limited' and it all comes together. This guy lives on my moo baan and has a fancy copperplate sign for his company on his gate. Noticed yesterday there were two big hot air balloons in the field infront of the moobaan. I can't say I know anything about the company though.

[PeaceBlondie]

When I was a mere 22 years old, I actually managed to put on a fairly big event, and the regional empressario of far bigger festivals stood on the drag strip saying, "I should do something like this..." He did that, and was far more successful than I would be (you may have heard of the Kerrville Folk Festival, among other events he masterminded). It takes an empressario, a marketing genius, years of building up the reputation, etc. It takes more than earth, wind and fire. Good luck.

[Sao Jiang Mai]

As someone rightly quoted the Chiang Mai Citylifes (nee Newsletter) 1995 edition, the founders of Citylife along with TAT, Kad Theatre and many interested people and organisations had fortnightly meetings for nearly a year to try to pull off such a festival - the Chiang Mai Arts and Cultural Festival, if I remember correctly. Unfortunately it was lack of tourists (ie non backpackers and package tour groups with pre arranged itineraries) and money which made the festival untenable. I remember there were plans to bring in Broadway theatre troups (not impossible, as we had quite a few groups from Oz and US come to perform Grease and South Pacific around then), an out doors concert with Tuk and Bangkok bands (which TAT was pledging support for), social installation arts throughtout the entire city, etc. Anyway, money and tourists are not the problem now, but it does worry me that the time frame seems to be a tad tight. The previous group were planning on two years preparations...I think. Still, I am sure I will go down to check it all out at some point.

[richard10365]

Someone has (finally) had the courage to launch a first-ever International Festival for Chiang Mai,

Payap University had their annual International Festival (International Day 5) back in November here in Chiang Mai. Sorry you missed it. It was an awesome event! Good luck with your first ever international festival. I hope it will be just as good.