The Annual Chiang Mai Flower Festival takes place in February every year. Always a most colourful event, the Chiang Mai Flower Festival brings thousands of visitors to the city to enjoy the natural beauty of flowers. For many people, the highlight of the entire festival is the Floral Parade with many floats bedecked with flowers accompanied by dancers in traditional costumes and Hill Tribes in their amazing colourful outfits.
The official opening ceremony of the Chiang Mai Flower Festival will be held at Nawarat Bridge early on the morning of the 5th and from there the floral parade will move slowly towards Suan Buak Haad where the main floral displays and competitions are held. Another highlight of the festival is a display of quite another kind of natural beauty, the Flower Festival Beauty Pageant where some of the prettiest Thai ladies will compete for the honour of becoming the Floral Queen.
Arak Road is lined with stalls selling beautiful orchids and other flowers, garden ornaments, handicrafts and of course food, lots and lots of it. The floral part of the festival is as colourful as ever with many prize winning orchids on display at Suan Buak Haad, along with a huge variety of Bonsai and Cactii and a wide range of other fantastic blooms, some of which will be available for sale at the end of the festival. The Chiang Mai Flower festival is one of the most attractive of all Chiang Mai Festivals and, with its street carnival atmosphere, makes for a delightful day (or 3) out for all the family.
