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St. Paul Minnesota SonSongkran is Thailand’s most famous festival. It is a very important event on the Buddhist calendar, marking the beginning of the traditional Thai New Year. In Thailand, the party runs day and night for 3 days.
In 1940, the New Year was changed to January 1. Songkran then became an official holiday and has become Thailand’s most famous festival.
Songkran is known as the biggest water festival in the world. Throwing water is meant to wash away bad luck from the previous year. It represents the cleansing necessary to shift into the new year.
The Thai Cultural Council of Minnesota is presenting the annual Minnesota Songkran Festival on May 27 and 28, 2023, in St. Paul.
Festival Hours
- Saturday, May 27 10 am to 9 pm
- Sunday, May 28 10 am to 6 pm
This is a free event and is open to the public.
Experience the excitement of the New Year and celebrate the beauty of cultural diversity. Visitors are encouraged to wear traditional Thailand clothes to the festival. Use our link to find items of traditional clothes available for purchase for women and men.
The Thai Cultural Council of Minnesota wants to teach about and promote the rich Thai traditions in the arts, music, dance and food and to represent Thai culture in the ethnic mosaic of the Twin Cities.
There will be live entertainment throughout the two days of the festival. Enjoy musical performances and traditional dances. The infamous papaya eating contest will be back and it’s always fun to watch.
And eating is one of the highlights of the Songkran Festival. Food vendors will be there with authentic Thai foods that are enjoyed during Songkran. Some of the Songkran dishes are Mango Sticky Rice (famous Thai dessert) and Khao Chae (a royal rice dish). Pad Thai (classic stir fry rice and noodle dish) and Tom Yum Goong (hot and sour soup with prawns) are also considered traditional dishes.
If the festival inspires you to want to learn more about Thai cuisine, you might want to consider the following cookbooks. And you can use our links to see how you can save money on them.
- The Pepper Thai Cookbook: Family Recipes by Pepper Teigan and Garrett Snider
- 101 Thai Dishes You Need To Cook by Jet Tilo and Tad Weyland Fukomato
- Simple Thai Food: Classic Recipes from the Thai Home Kitchen by Leela Punyaratabandhu
- Kin Thai: Modern Thai Recipes to Cook at Home by John Chantarasak
Thai Restaurants in St. Paul
Or you can enjoy Thai cuisine at the 15 Best Thai Restaurants in St. Paul as chosen by the users of TripAdvisor.
- On’s Thai Kitch
- Ruam Mit Thai
- Eastside Thai
- Friends
- Pad Thai Restaurant
- Thai Street Market
- Sawatdee Saint Paul
- Bangkok Thai Deli
- Thai Garden
- Mango Thai
- Thai Cafe
- Taste of Thailand
- King Thai Asian Cuisine
- Coconut Thai
- Phi Choy Thai Cuisine
Where to Stay
If you’d like to visit St. Paul for the Songkran Festival, you should consider the following hotels. They are offering discounts that will save you money on your stay.
- Holiday Inn St. Paul Downtown, an IHG Hotel
- DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel St. Paul Downtown
- Quality Inn & Suites Arden Hills – Saint Paul North
- Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, Woodbury, MN
- Comfort Inn Saint Paul East
- Hampton Inn & Suites Downtown St. Paul
- InterContinental Saint Paul Riverfront, an IHG Hotel
- Cambria Hotel Bloomington Mall of America
- Omni Viking Lakes Hotel
- Quality Inn Saint Paul – Midway