Civic Square festival returns with rich showcase of Thailand

The Thai Food & Culture Festival will turn the city's central public space into a bustling market of Thai street food, artistic displays and traditional dance and music on Sunday, November 26.

Originally founded as a Launceston iteration of the Loy Krathong Thai Festival - one of Thailand's largest yearly celebrations - the event has grown into an anticipated showing in its own right for the wider public.

"It's an opportunity for the Thai people to get together," said Pearl Chinthammit, an organising committee member of the Thai Association of Tasmania, the organisation that oversees the festival.

"But it's also grown and become more than that; it's about Thai people bringing something to life that reminds them of home, then being able to share that with their new home of Tasmania."

The event is has impressive backing from bodies like the Royal Thai Embassy Canberra, the Thai Tourism Authority and Dendra Market Garden alongside Launceston City Council,

Thai people from across the state travel to Civic Square for the event, coming from as far as Hobart and the East Coast to volunteer or enjoy the festivities.

This year's Thai Food & Culture Festival will bring back plenty of favourites from previous years alongside more than 11 food vendors serving everything from green curry and pad thai to desserts.

New drawcards for 2023 include live music courtesy of a local family of Thai instruments collectors, who will perform with the woodwind Khlui, Saw U fiddle and percussive Kim and Khong Wong Yao.

And a returning favourite stallholder from Hobart will also be making the rounds at the event: the ever-popular 15-minute Thai massages.

"For Thai people, it's a chance to connect with others, and we can't wait to connect our heritage with Launceston again this year," Ms Chinthammit said.

The Thai Food & Culture Festival runs from 11am to 4pm on Sunday, November 26, at Civic Square with free entry.