All things Thai enjoyed at Warwick festival

Last weekend the annual Thai Festival returned for its 15th year.

The event, which was held across two days, was organised by Warwick Rotary Club.

Buddhist monks were welcomed by traders giving the traditional gifts of food, before the programme of music and dance started.

Rotary President David Smith, Cllr Neale Murphy, Mayor of Warwick, and the Town Crier welcomed visitors and declared the festival open, before touring more than 20 Thai food stalls, including one selling stir-fry ice-cream.

There was a massage area, arts, crafts, and clothes for sale, with prayers and blessings by Buddhist Monks.

Visitors were able to enjoy their food while watching the show of Thai dance and ladyboys, local Muay Thai kick boxers, and Singha beer from the sponsors.

Magic of Thailand run a number of events around the country throughout the summer and worked with the Rotary Club to bring the festival to Warwick.

The Thai festival is now a regular event at the racecourse and organiser Rotarian Alan Bailey said that the event raises funds for local charities and international disasters and is a great opportunity to showcase Warwick to a wider community.

The festival was sponsored by Kia cars, Costco, Singha Beer, and Warwick Castle. Warwick Racecourse organised the ticketing and opened its facilities, with staff assisting organisers throughout the weekend. CJ Events provided the stalls, the 2nd Warwick Sea Scouts helped park all the cars for 2 days, Warwick Ambulance and Warwick Lions were in attendance.

Andre Klein manager at the racecourse said they were pleased to support the community in this way.