Thai New Year Festival – Songkran

So! I’m catching up on my backlog of reviews. If you haven’t figured out by the title of this festival, this happens once a year. If you love all things Thai, then be on the lookout for 2016. Lots of Thai food to make your tummy happy and trinkets to tickle you.
Nearest Metro Station: Red Line at Hollywood/​Western Station

For cultural festivals in Los Angeles, the Thai New Year Songkran Festival is one of my favorites. It’s on the first Sunday in April and this year I went on April 5, 2015 and have been to it several times since I moved to LA in 2008. The festival is in Thai Town – where many Thai people live and the neighborhood has many Thai restaurants, markets, and shops – closing off Hollywood Blvd. between Western to Normandie. Los Angeles has the largest Thai population in the world outside of Thailand. At the festival, you can enjoy the entertainers, performances, singers and bands, fashion, beauty pageants, street food, beverages, Muay Thai, Thai organizations and local organizations tabling, beer garden serving Singha beer, various vendors, etc.
Festival organization has improved over the years regarding thoughtful placement of booths and stages to reduce crowding in high traffic walking areas of the festival. Since I hadn’t gone in a couple of years, I noticed that the grounds are better maintained, like trash is regularly picked up and there’s a good distribution of portable restrooms. A lot of people attend the festival and it is centrally located (in Hollywood) and very accessible by public transportation.
What I like about this festival is that Thai folks to celebrate the New Year and the local community is able to attend and participate to learn about Thai culture. It’s very welcoming and you’ll find plenty of booths to learn from. Vendors and staff at booths and exhibits are very friendly and welcoming. I took a photo at Amazing Thailand with a backdrop and I carried fruit and the folks there were great.
Originally, I went to the festival by myself, but I ran into friends at the beer garden! That was fun. Of course I could eat at any restaurant in the area, but I wanted to try the food at the festival, even though festival food is typically pricey. Anyhow, I got a plate that had beef jerky, sausage, papaya salad, and larb from a Thai Chinese food vendor. I had some Thai tea from a group that was fundraising (I forget, I think it might’ve been a school club).
Anyhow, again, I always have a lot of fun at the Thai Festival, so you should check it out!

Hot hot hot! Bring sunglasses and a hat! And and appetite!

I’ve attended this event many times when I was younger. Each time I’ve been here, the festival have always been fun… lots of people roaming the streets, many food vendors showing what they’ve got, and many beautiful ladies parading in old Thai costumes. During my last visit, my friends and I showed up later in the day. Parking was horrible, it took us approximately 30 minutes to find parking. However, this is totally understandable. There has got to be hundreds of people passing by on top of normal traffic in the area. If you can find a spot, it’s worth checking out!
They have a large variety of things for you to try. Each of these dishes range from $ 5 — $ 10 depending on what you order. If you come later in the day, most of the vendors will drop their prices, BUT their selections aren’t as fresh anymore. One of my favorite things to eat are the chicken, beef, pork skewers. I have to say, I was a little disappointed at the ones I got from a vendor. I can’t remember the name, but my food was a little raw. They were probably rushing to get their food out because of the line of people. We also tried a papaya salad. I wasn’t thrilled of this either. There wasn’t too much flavor. My friends had Pad Thai and they said they enjoyed it. Their desserts here are great! I ordered a very typical Thai dessert. I don’t know the name, but it has jack fruit, corn, colored water chestnuts, in coconut milk served with ice. It was about $ 4 and one of my favorite things. I also tried their mango with sticky rice for $ 6. It’s pretty simple, so it’s hard to mess up. I was looking for Roti, a flaky pancake with condense milk filling. They sells these at Wat Thai Temple in Panorama City. These are amazing, but I couldn’t find any here. Most of these items aren’t expensive, but they definitely add up. They also offer a variety of drinks… nothing too special about them. There’s a Singha section. It was closed by the time we got there, but it looked real fun. Lots of people standing around under beach umbrellas and drinking ice cold beer. Every table here had a large beer pong. Maybe another time!
There’s plenty of entertainment. This includes contests, raffles, pageant, boxing, and concerts. We checked out a few of them and they were pretty entertaining. Since we were there much later, most of the entertainment was done. So if you looking to enjoy some talents, try to be there earlier in the day. Lastly, like any other festival… you’ll see the same people from other events like Lunar New Year, etc. Representatives from Rose Hills, LAPD, State Farm, Blue Cross, etc will be there. Many of them offer little games where you can play and win prizes… all part of the master scheme to get your attention!
I definitely recommend checking this place out if you haven’t been. It only happens once a year and it’s typically around March or April. Be prepared to have a difficult time finding parking and navigating around a crowd of people. All in all, come check out what you’ve been missing!

The date of the review is 04/​06/​2014.
My wife and I decided to take the Metro after parking around Vermont & Wilshire. It was a good decision as parking in that area (Hollywood/​Western area) would have been impossible. We saw the traffic backed up on both Western Avenue as well as Hollywood Blvd.
With respect to the food booths, we observed many of the eatery establishments were duplicate of each other. Thai fried rice, BBQ chicken, Papaya salad, Mango Sticky Rice with coconut syrup, and Thai ice tea were the main food themes. We tried the Thai fried rice and BBQ chicken plates. The taste was below average for the Thai food and it was overpriced.
We were very disappointed with the 11^th Thai Songkran Festival 2014 and decided to leave after 45 minutes. For us it was very boring and uneventful…
It was an OK one time experience that we will not repeat again.

My BF and I have been coming here for the past few years now and we love it! Since a big portion of Hollywood Blvd. expect traffic to be a mess. We usually find parking somewhere in the residential areas between Sunset & Hollywood.
I love the performances, the food, the booths, beer garden, and the pageants. The food is pricey at the festival and a lot cheaper other times… But hey that’s what the festival is for.

It was alright. Lots of beer to be drunk and Thai food to be consumed. No real deals on the street if you are looking for cheap eats. Also, have fun fighting for space in the beer garden. Seats fill up quick.
STRONG ALSO, buy beers by the cup NOT by the tower. Even though it looks totally bad ass, you lose money on the deal.

To be honest, I was disappointed by the food offerings and the booths in general. The beer garden line was growing exponentially, and it was frigging hot like a mother. The mango with sticky rice was overpriced and so was my iced coffee from Lee’s Sandwiches (Hello, wrong festival?)
One star for the cultural value, a second for the DJ playing über loud house, and a third for the shaded beer garden — the only oasis from the scorching sidewalks of Hollywood from Western to Normandie.
I’m sure I would have awarded another star if I had seen some washboard abs boxing live though. Hopefully the festival is young and will improve every year!

I wish I had known more about this festival before stopping by on a whim. We didn’t realize how large it was, or how much was going on and it was disappointing to only be able to stay for an hour or two.
There was live music, tons of food and culture, a singha beer garden with 100 oz beer towers, no lines because there are waitresses, tables and a DJ, thai boxing and just a lot of people having a great time.
Next year we will be sure to get some friends together and make a day of it! Just don’t forget the sunscreen!

Happy Thai New Years! It is good to be in the know. My Thai friend invited my boyfriend and I to the Thai New Year festival. The blocks of Little Thai Town in Hollywood were closed off. There were trinket stalls, food stalls, and temple stalls. There was a Singha Beer Area. Singha beer is a Thai Brand Beer. Luckily my friend got us into the VIP shaded area to save us into the sun. There were a few Thai lady boys and a Thai Beauty Pageant.
There was yummy Papaya Salad, Sticky Mango Rice, Jelly Drinks, and Thai ice tea among many different Thai foods. It was a day filled with good food, great drinks, and best friends.
Happy Thai New Years!!!

Anytime I get a chance to watch Thai girls cavorting around to badly dubbed Siamese versions of «Gangnam Style», Buddhist monks loudly extorting donations for blessings and instances of gross disregard for personal safety — aka Muay Thai — I am there. Strangely enough, Corazon (who is Thai) did not know that the festival was going on yesterday. It was only through sheer coincidence, driving down Western Ave. did we see the festivities.
Needless to say, girls gallivanted around, monks needled for donations and a good dosage of brain demmege was handed out in the boxing ring. I also got a chance to practice my Thai accent while ordering such delicacies as mango sticky rice and lobster balls. I only wish that they would really get into the spirit of the Siamese New Year with water fights and the like, but alas, I have an eerie premonition that idiots would load their squirt guns with hepatitis infected urine… yeah, don’t ask.

Here are a few tips on how to do it and watch the Thai Boxing fights.
1. Wear sunblock as only the ring is tented (except last year when there were high winds). Bring a cap with a visor. Singha beer usually gives out foam visors but no guarantees.
2. There is no seating. If you plan to watch most of all the fights, bring a camping chair or some portable seat. Write your name on a piece of tape on the back of the chair, because someone will sit on it when you are gone.
3. Park your car at one of the metro stations with a parking lot. Here is a list.
Take the metro link there. Get off on Hollywood on Western. Parking is very difficult and the shuttle service is not very good from the designated parking lot.
4. The Metro Redline will take you to Hollywood and Western which is the start of the street fare.
5. If you plan on going to the Singha Beer Gardens, bring your ID. If you have kids, they will not be able to enter the beer gardens.
6. If you plan to attend as a group, wear your gym shirts to identify each other.
7. And most important! TRY TO DO YOUR #2 AT HOME! The porta-​potties get worst as the days go on

This year it will be Sunday April 7, 2013. Food, festival, and muay thai fights! Lots of fun. Take the metro because parking is impossible. On Hollywood Blvd between Normandie and Western, ish. Free to walk around. Beer garden. Parade. Music. Great time.

I did not know that this existed, I wish I would have known earlier!!! I had so much fun!!!
Our Thai friend Andy told my fiancé and I to come and join him in celebrating their New Year. Of course, we said yes, since both of us enjoy trying new things!
My oh, so smart fiancé, Noah didn’t realize that this was an actual big festival, and when he arrived he was pleasantly surprised… it was big, packed and full of life. They had their own little beer «garden.» It was fun sitting in shaded seating and having a couple of cold ones on a beautiful day.
We shared some Thai BBQ, very delicious Pad Thai and some Thai sweet treats. My friend Andy introduced us to one of the most amazing deserts that my fiancé and I have ever had, some sort of fried coconut milk thingy… oh my fudge cakes was it heavenly!!!
The festival had traditional Thai performances, music, souvenirs, a Buddhist priest to bless you for a donation and they even had a Thai beauty contest going on… what else can someone ask for?!?
All in all, the three of us had so much fun, and can’t wait until next years Thai New Year Festival… we are fans of this festival!!!

My first time coming to the annual Thai new years festival, with the invitation of my friends. The atmosphere here was pretty chill, had lots of foods like fish balls and chicken satay, Thai ice tea with boba which i particularly took a liking for. There was a Thai beauty pageant, muay Thai tournament being held here among others. The weather turned out great for the event at hand. It’s definitely an event to come for as a cultural experience and one to come out on the weekend when there’s no plans.

Patience is a virtue that I lack and the festival was a true test of patience. No one knew when the Muay Thai fighting was supposed to begin so a crowd started to gather near the ring as early as 11am. Unfortunately, it didn’t start until after 2pm, which meant that we stood in the crowd for an hour and a half before there was any action. I was beyond pissed. A schedule would’ve been nice!
It’s a good thing the fights were entertaining because if they didn’t live up to my expectations, I would’ve punched an organizer. (I know, violence is not the answer).
A couple of other observations:
1) The street food sucked. Did every single stall have to sell satay, fried rice, and sticky rice with mango? Come on! Be more creative. Luckily, we skipped most of that and went to one of the restaurants instead.
2) The beer garden had weird pricing. One bottle of beer was $ 3 but a beer tower that contained 8 bottles of beer was $ 30. Isn’t buying in bulk supposed to be cheaper?

Spencer invited me and Ryan and to check this out. Like many other annual events that occur throughout the year in Los Angeles I’ve never been so I was definitely down to try some Thai street food.
We showed up and it’s not crazy busy except around the rings where the Thai kickboxing is. That particular block was brutal. And in fact at one point I decided not to navigate through it and to walk down a block to cross over and then back up to the festival.
We tried several different food booths and overall, not very impressed. We found most of the booths didn’t keep their food very hot or even warm at all. This really cramps room for taste in these foods. Seriously disappointing. We tried some fried mussels, pad thai, grilled fish balls, grilled pork, chicken and shrimp, chicken sausage, papaya salad, egg rolls and some more stuff I don’t even remember. Most of it really wasn’t that good. The papaya salad was one of the best things we had and no surprise, it’s a dish served cold so maybe that contributed to its taste.
The rest of the festival wasn’t too bad watching traditional Thai dancing was pretty cool and also a beauty contest. And of course the Thai kickboxing.
But overall for a street festival I wasn’t too impressed. Not sure if I’d do this again next year but then again I did forget to try some Thai beer.

Getting drunk on the streets north of Hollywood with a bunch of my friends while checking out hot girls, and betting on muay thai that’s being fought in a ring ON THE STREET?
Yeah. No need to explain any more than that.

Except for that whole Earthquake thing, I wouldn’t change a thing about 2010’s Thai New Year Festival known as Songkran (except the geocities reminiscent, archaic website).
It had everything I could need in a Thai festival — including Thais! But sadly they were not free to take home or available for purchase. Also, for a New Year Festival there was only one New Year on display and not an assortment of New Years so I was a bit misled by the title. Also since it was the first day of the New Year, we didn’t have much of the Year to view anyways. It was just the 1 day. But man if every day of the year was like this… well aside from soul shattering, sphincter clenching earthquakes… then we are in great shape for 2011!
But seriously folks, there was a beer garden with those newfangled doohickies that are all the beer garden rage & nouvelle vogue:
. The beats were bumpin hard in the beer garden and people were mixing and mingling. It was loud but i think I overheard some people saying they wanted to skip straight to Phucket and Bangkok. Yeah, those ARE great cities to be in for Songkran!
Along with discounted Thai cooking products, produce, and cooked food, there were lots of authentic and questionable Thai goodies. But most vendors looked pretty earnest and weren’t selling snake oil to the curious American idiot. There was a beauty pageant which probably would have been the highlight after affixing my beer goggles, but i missed it :(Fortunately I managed to catch some pretty decent Muy Thai fighters mix it up in the ring! Even saw a diesel TKO by way of roundhouse! But there were no Tie Fighters of Star Wars lore:
.
Got some kick ass Thai comfort food along the festival route and then got to eat at the cheap & delicious Red Corner Asia while I sat back and enjoyed the earthquake and a Thai Iced tea.
Take the Metro! Hollywood and Western red line stop is directly adjacent to the beginning of the parade route. Won’t have to worry about parking and you can Singha yourself silly.

This is such an amazing place and sight to see!!! I came here today for the Thai New Year Festival and it’s totally worth checking out every year!!!
In tradition, Thailand is usually really really hot hot hot on new years. So you are able to splash ANYONE YOU WANT with water and NOT get into trouble!!! It is so amazing!!!
All the sights and food. friendly people and entertainment that they had for us to look at. I was walking around today and everyone was so nice, splashing water here and there and it was cool to just be able to walk around the streets and then get splashed and not hear people complaining or anything dumb like that.
*****WARNING!!!*****
Be sure to come early so you can find some good parking along the streets!!!