Early Morning Gridlock on the Sakon Nakhon Waterfront

Municipal Grounds almost ready for Sakon's Gala event

Vendors are ready for business 

Traffic lanes are reduced, expect one way traffic to be enforced

Food fair area also used for formal dinner on October 28

Nightly Concerts 

No fair is complete without one of these

Many eateries are already operating

Which wire is he checking?

The Park is the starting point for the longboat trophy parade, starts 8 AM , Oct 26

Sakon Waterfront Comes Alive

Longboat parking area is marked and ready for use

Main boat launching ramp is busy, team supplies are being loaded

Pre-race practice is underway

Finishing touches on cheerleading platforms

Calm before the storm

Tropical Storm Son-tinh

Expect cooling temperatures Saturday night through Tuesday. 

Forecasts indicate that the center of the storm will bypass us.  Expect updates for possible changes. 

No weather warnings for Thailand, at the Thai Meteorological Department website at this time

  Occasional rain likely

Birthday dinner party cancelled, alternate plans.

Plans to have a catered dinner party outside Apple's restaurant had to be scrapped as planning got more complicated than it should have been.  The alternate plan is that I will pay 300 baht for food and drink for any FARANG who visits either Apple's restaurant or Pit Stop restaurant on Thursday, November 1.  Both restaurants have a limit of 3,000 baht.  I will not attend either restaurant on that day, instead will attend a private dinner party with my Thai family elsewhere.  My apologies to all who had expected to attend a party.

What went wrong with the party plan.   We've done this before

Blocked two lanes of traffic... traffic cones in place... set up a stage...

...numerous tables

It was quite a while ago, I was sixty then, now I'm  69 

With lessons learned from my mistakes, I'll have better foresight for my '10 years in Sakon celebration.'  Feb 2013

My sincere apologies once more

2012 Sakon Nakhon Longboat Races and Wax Castle Festival

October 26 

 08:00 AM Trophy Parade (blue route map below) 

 11:00 AM Boat Parade at waterfront park 

             Longboat races begin at conclusion of boat parade  

 06:00 PM OTOP- Food fair - Light-color-sound show - Art and culture show (concert) municipal grounds

October 27 

09:00 AM Longboat races continue

02:00 PM Longboat Championship race

03:00 PM Championship Trophy ceremony

06 PM OTOP- Food fair - Light-color-sound show - Art and culture show (concert) at the municipal grounds

October 28 

06:00 AM Mini Marathon Race at new waterfront park 

07:30 AM Marathon Trophy awards 

09:00 AM Flower arrangement contest at municipal grounds

06:00 PM  Dinner  - OTOP - Food fair - Light-color-sound show - Art and culture show (concert) muni grounds 

October 29 

02:00 PM Wax Castle procession assembles Provincial Headquarters grounds 

02:30 PM Art and Culture Show 

  03:30 PM Wax Castle trophy awards 

  04:00 PM Opening Ceremony (Main Grandstand), Wax Castle Parade

October 30 

  06:00 AM Alms Ceremony at Wat Phra That Choeng Chum

Buzzy as a Bee with Bee's wax

Visited a nearby temple to observe the progress of wax castle construction.

Seems like still plenty to do.
Most of the work is done in the evenings, in cooler temperatures