PHUKET, Thailand – Phuket opened the “Kebaya Festival 2025” on September 20 with a grand parade and cultural performances at Queen Sirikit’s 72nd Anniversary Park. Organized by the Ministry of Culture and Phuket province with support from local cultural networks, the festival honored the kebaya, the traditional attire of Baba–Peranakan women, inscribed by UNESCO in 2024 as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
The ceremony was led by Rakchanok Kojaranont, Deputy Permanent Secretary for Culture, together with Poungpaka Chaowai, Director of the Phuket Provincial Cultural Office, and representatives from the Phuket Cultural Council. The celebration showcased cooperation between government agencies, private organizations, and local communities, reinforcing Phuket’s status as a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy and a cultural hub.
Highlights included an 11-part parade with government and school processions, ethnic community groups, Chinese–Thai friendship delegations, deity processions, and long-drum ensembles. Visitors also enjoyed stage plays, handicraft demonstrations, historical exhibitions, and concerts by Phuket-born artists Wichayanee Pearklin and Jaruwat Cheawaram.
Alongside events in Sakon Nakhon and Ratchaburi, the Kebaya Festival is one of three major cultural showcases put together to link Thai heritage with tourism, creative industries, and global audiences. The event helped promote the southern province as a destination where tradition meets innovation, while presenting Thai cultural identity as a source of soft power with global reach. (NNT)
