TheStar: LOCALS and tourists basked in Thai atmosphere at the first ever Thai Food, Fruits and Cultural Festival at Fort Cornwallis in George Town over the weekend.

Visitors treated themselves to delicious food in the event from 10am to 11pm.

They also shopped for souvenirs while various stage performances entertained them.

Jointly organised by the state Tourism Develop-ment and Culture office and the Royal Thai Consulate-General of Penang, the festival featured over 30 stalls selling Thai food, clothes, accessories and souvenirs. Traditional Thai massages were also available.

In his speech, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng hoped that Penang would be transformed into a city that could be the choice location for investors, tourists and also for those who wanted to make it their residence.

“With George Town being listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site, this Thai cultural event will add to the diversity that Penang has to offer,” he said.

The highlights of the first day included the Klong Yao (long Thai style drum made of hardwood) performance, Muay Thai (Thai kickboxing) demonstration and Thai traditional dances.

Those who brought cameras sat as near as they could to the stage to snap photographs of the colourful performances.

In an attempt to interact with the audience, the host randomly picked two people from the crowd to briefly interview them about the shows and Thai culture.

A researcher from Switzerland, Marco, 26, found the Thai cultural event very interesting.

“I’ve never been to Thailand before and have only seen its culture on television and movies.

“I thought the Muay Thai perfor-mance was too theatrical while the ram sat chatri dance was wonderful,” he said.

His friend, Andrea, 31, another Swiss researcher, expressed her interest in trying out the Thai food sold at the stalls.

Among those who attended the ceremony were Penang Tourism Development and Culture Committee chairman Danny Law, Thai Consul-General Voradet Viravakin, and Mayor of Betong, Thailand, Datuk Khunawut Mongkhonprajak.

By JOSEPHINE JALLEH 
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Photos by K.E. OOI

Monday August 9, 2010

The Star Online