All rise for the Phuket Vegetarian Festival

PHUKET: Phuket folk from all over the island spent this afternoon pasting gold leaf onto Go Teng poles, hoping for good luck, before they are raised at every Chinese shrine in Phuket this afternoon at 5:09pm to mark the start of the 2013 Vegetarian Festival.

“We have set up lots of places to eat in the vicinity of our shrine and trained our staff to teach tourists what to see and how to conduct themselves during the nine days and nights of the festival,” said Teeravut Sritularak, the president of the Jui Tui shrine.

For people wanting to join the opening ceremonies, the full schedule of today’s activities at all participating shrines across Phuket is as follows:

Kathu Shrine
17.00 Lantern Pole Raising
24.00 Jade Emperor & Nine Emperor Gods Propitiation

Jui Tui Shrine
17.09 Lantern Pole Raising
23.09 Jade Emperor & Nine Emperor Gods Propitiation

Bang Neow Shrine
17.00 Warriors Propitiation & Lantern Pole Raising
22.00 Jade Emperor
23.00 Nine Emperor Gods Propitation at Saphan Hin

Sui Boon Tong Shrine
16.00 Lantern Pole Raising
24.00 Jade Emperor & Nine Emperor Gods Propitiation

Samkong Shrine
17.45 Lantern Pole Raising
24.00 Jade Emperor & Nine Emperor Gods Propitiation (Yog Ong Song Tae & Kiu Ong Tai Tae)

Baan Tha Rua Shrine
17.00 Lantern Pole Raising
24.00 Jade Emperor & Nine Emperor Gods Propitiation

Cherng Talay Shrine
16.59 Lantern Pole Raising
21.09 Jade Emperor Propitiation
23.00 Nine Emperor Gods Propitiation at Surin Beach

Yokkekeng Shrine
17.00 Lantern Pole Raising
22.30 Jade Emperor Propitiation
24.00 Nine Emperor Gods Propitiation

Sapam Shrine
17.45 Lantern Pole Raising
24.00 Jade Emperor & Nine Emperor Gods Propitiation

To read the Phuket Gazette‘s special report ‘Ma Song on their way for Phuket’s Vegetarian Festival’, click here.

— Saran Mitrarat