Phuket Vegetarian Festival to begin tonight

PHUKET: As the sun sets on Phuket tonight, all Chinese shrines taking part in the annual Vegetarian Festival will raise their go-teng poles so that the Jade Emperor, among the Nine Emperor Gods, can descend from the heavens, heralding the beginning of this year’s event.

Devotees began pasting gold-leaf papers to the poles last night ahead of the festival’s precursor event this evening, as a form of making merit and inviting good luck.

Meanwhile, cooks at food stalls around all participating shrines began their final preparations of vegetarian fare to be provided throughout the festival.

The nine-day event attracts thousands of visitors to Phuket to witness the festivities, which include fire-walking, bladed-ladder climbing, hundreds of stalls fully stocked with vegan foods and processions at locations across the island (story here).

For the first time in its history, the world-famous festival will occur twice in one year. This year, there will be two 9th lunar months in the Chinese calendar and twice the number of visits from the gods (story here).

The schedule of events for tonight is:

JUI TUI SHRINE
5:09pm – Lantern Pole Raising
11:09pm – Jade Emperor & Nine Emperor Gods Propitiation

BANG NEOW SHRINE
5pm – Warriors Propitiation & Lantern Pole Raising
10pm – Jade Emperor Propitiation
11pm – Nine Emperor Gods Propitiation at Saphan Hin

SUI BOON TONG SHRINE
4pm – Lantern Pole Raising
Midnight – Jade Emperor & Nine Emperor Gods Propitiation

SAMKONG SHRINE
5:45pm – Lantern Pole Raising
Midnight – Jade Emperor & Nine Emperor Gods Propitiation

SAPAM SHRINE
5:45pm – Lantern Pole Raising
Midnight – Jade Emperor & Nine Emperor Gods Propitiation

KATHU SHRINE
5pm – Lantern Pole Raising
Midnight – Jade Emperor & Nine Emperor Gods Propitiation

BAN THA RUE SHRINE
5pm – Lantern Pole Raising
Midnight – Jade Emperor & Nine Emperor Gods Propitiation

CHERNG TALAY SHRINE
4:59pm Lantern Pole Raising
9:09pm Jade Emperor Propitiation
11pm – Nine Emperor Gods Propitiation at Surin Beach

YOKKEKENG SHRINE
5pm – Lantern Pole Raising
10:30pm – Jade Emperor Propitiation
Midnight – Nine Emperor Gods Propitiation

For the Phuket Gazette report listing all the street processions and fire-walking activities to be held throughout the festival, click here.

— Natthaphol Wittayarungrote