Festivals & Annual Calendar

Verified 29 August 202616 min read11 sections

Thai festivals mostly follow the lunar calendar, so the Gregorian dates move every year — treat the dated events below as "confirmed for the year shown" and re-check the following year. Songkran and the public holidays are fixed; Loy Krathong/Yi Peng, the Inthakin Festival and the Vegetarian Festival shift. Prices are in Thai baht; USD equivalents are generated live from the site's current rate. Last verified July 2026 against Tourism Authority of Thailand listings and the event sources at the foot of this page.

Chiang Mai runs on a rhythm of seasons and festivals, and getting the timing right matters more here than in most places you might move to. The difference between arriving in November and arriving in March is the difference between crisp blue skies with a lantern festival on the horizon and choking smoke with the air-quality app permanently red (see Health & Fitness and Emergency Numbers & Safety for the burning-season detail). This page is two things: a plain guide to the festivals worth planning around, and a month-by-month calendar pairing weather with what's on, so you can time a move — or time a trip away — sensibly.

The three seasons in one paragraph#

Chiang Mai has a cool season (roughly November to February), a hot season (March to May) and a rainy season (June to October). The cool season is the good one: dry, sunny, daytime highs in the high 20s°C and genuinely cool evenings, and it's no accident that the two biggest festivals — Loy Krathong/Yi Peng in November and the Flower Festival in February — bookend it. The hot season is brutal, with April regularly hitting 40°C, and it overlaps with burning season, so it's the stretch most long-termers try to leave. The rainy season is much better than it sounds: rain usually comes in short, heavy late-afternoon bursts, the countryside turns green, the air is clean, and prices and crowds drop. If you're choosing when to arrive with your life in boxes, aim for late October through February.

The big four you'll actually plan around#

Loy Krathong & Yi Peng — the lantern festival (November)#

This is the one people fly across the world for, and if you live here you get it on your doorstep. Loy Krathong is the nationwide festival of floating decorated baskets (krathongs) on the river and moat; Yi Peng is the specifically Northern Thai tradition of releasing glowing sky lanterns (khom loi). In Chiang Mai the two run together over the same few days and the whole city — river, moat, temples, Tha Phae Gate — fills with light. For 2026 the official Tourism Authority events run 24–26 November, with Yi Peng on 24–25 November and Loy Krathong on 25 November.

A crucial practical point that trips up newcomers: you can no longer legally release sky lanterns freely inside the city. Because lanterns drift into flight paths and start fires, releases are restricted to officially authorised venues outside the city, and illegal releases carry serious penalties (fines and, in theory, imprisonment). The mass "thousands of lanterns rising together" images you've seen are from ticketed events (the CAD Khomloy release and similar), held out of town, which bundle in transport, dinner and the lanterns themselves — these sell out and are not cheap. You can still enjoy the free public side of the festival — floating a krathong on the river, the Tha Phae Gate celebrations, the beautifully decorated temples and bridges — without a ticket at all. Book flights and any out-of-town hotels months ahead; this is Chiang Mai's peak week.

Attending a mass lantern release — tickets, prices & the free alternative

If you want the postcard shot of thousands of lanterns rising at once, that only happens at the ticketed, out-of-town releases. The best-known is the CAD Khomloy Sky Lantern Festival (Mae Jo area), the event most of the famous photos come from, but there are several others of varying scale (Cozy Chiang Mai, Yeepeng Lanna and similar). As a resident it's worth doing once and then enjoying the free city side in later years.

What to expect from a ticket (2026 figures, re-verified July 2026): prices run roughly ฿4,800–15,500 ($142–457) depending on seat proximity and VIP perks. A ticket typically bundles in return transfer from Chiang Mai, an assigned seat, a dinner buffet, a Lanna dance-and-monk-chanting show, and your lanterns for the release — so the headline price is less brutal than it first looks. International resellers quote in dollars rather than baht, and budget/authorised-agent standard seats have sold around US$165–215 in recent years. Two cautions: the official-looking ticket sites multiply every year and scam/overpriced resellers are common, so buy through a clearly authorised channel and cross-check; and these events sell out months ahead, so if you want to go in a given November, book in the preceding spring or summer.

The free alternative costs nothing and is genuinely lovely: float a krathong on the Ping River or the moat, walk the decorated Old City, catch the Tha Phae Gate stage programme and the parades, and you'll still see plenty of (individually released, where permitted) lanterns in the sky — just not the single synchronised mass release.

Floating a krathong responsibly — skip the styrofoam

If you're floating your own krathong rather than (or as well as) attending a ticketed lantern release, it's worth doing it the way the city is actively steering people toward. Styrofoam and plastic krathongs — the glittery, brightly-coloured ones that used to be sold everywhere — are now firmly discouraged, because the moat and river used to end up clogged with thousands of them the morning after; several years of that has pushed Chiang Mai (like other Thai cities) back toward the traditional materials. Choose a krathong made from a genuine banana-trunk slice, banana leaf, bread, or other biodegradable material — these are sold streetside all over the city in the days before the festival for roughly ฿20–50 ($1–1), decorated with flowers, incense and a candle exactly as tradition intends. Skip anything made of foam, plastic or glitter, even if a stall is still selling it.

The other easy-to-miss rule: don't tuck a coin or other object inside your krathong. It's a common old habit (a coin for good luck), but foreign objects sink to the bottom of the river rather than biodegrading, and municipal crews specifically flag this as a problem when they collect the krathongs by boat the following morning. Keep it to the krathong, a few flowers, incense sticks and the candle — the offering is meant to be symbolic and to disappear cleanly, not to leave anything behind.

Songkran — Thai New Year & the water festival (April)#

Songkran is the Thai New Year and the world's biggest water fight, and Chiang Mai throws arguably the most intense version of it in the country. The national public holiday is 13–15 April (fixed every year), but Chiang Mai stretches the celebrations roughly 11–19 April, and the city municipality typically runs an official programme (processions, merit-making, cultural performances at Tha Phae Gate) across around 12–15 April. The 6.5km moat around the Old City becomes one continuous water battle — pickup trucks loaded with water barrels circle the moat, everyone is fair game, and it goes on for days.

There's a gentler, deeply meaningful side beneath the chaos: it's fundamentally a New Year cleansing ritual, with the Phra Buddha Sihing image paraded through the Old City, sand-pagoda building at the temples, morning alms-giving and the respectful pouring of water over elders' hands. Two things to know as a resident: protect your phone (waterproof pouch, and assume anything not sealed will get soaked), and know that many businesses close and traffic is chaotic, so it's a great week to either dive in fully or leave town. Note also that Songkran falls squarely inside the hot/burning season, so the water is genuinely welcome.

Chiang Mai Flower Festival (February)#

A calmer, family-friendly highlight held on the first weekend of February (the 49th edition ran 13–15 February 2026, Fri–Sun). It celebrates the end of the cool season when the region's flowers are at their peak, centred on Suan Buak Haad Park (Nong Buak Haad) at the southwest corner of the Old City moat. The centrepiece is the grand flower parade on the Saturday morning (~8am), with 25-plus elaborate flower floats setting off from the Nawarat Bridge and winding through the Old City to the park. Entry to everything is free. It lands in prime cool-season weather, so it's an easy, pleasant one to build a weekend around.

Vegetarian / "Jay" Festival (October)#

The Tesagan Gin Jay or Nine Emperor Gods Festival is a nine-day Chinese-Thai celebration of strict vegan eating and merit-making, centred on Warorot Market (Kad Luang) and the Chinese shrines in the old Chinatown quarter. In 2026 it runs 10–18 October. For anyone who eats plant-based, this is the best week of the year — endless creative vegan versions of Thai dishes with mock meats, tofu and mushrooms, marked everywhere by yellow flags reading "เจ" (jay). It falls at the tail end of the rainy season, so the air and countryside are at their freshest. Entry is free; just follow the yellow flags around Warorot.

Worth knowing about (smaller, local, or seasonal)#

Bo Sang Umbrella Festival (January) — a colourful craft festival in the umbrella-making village of Bo Sang, east of the city, held on the third weekend of January (16–18 January 2026). Parades of performers in Lanna dress carrying oversized handmade paper umbrellas; a lovely, low-key day trip (see Day Trips & Getting Out).
Inthakin (City Pillar) Festival (May–June) — Chiang Mai's most important purely local/spiritual festival, honouring the sacred city pillar that's believed to protect the city. Held at Wat Chedi Luang in the Old City over several days in late May (13–19 May 2026), with merit-making and flower offerings. A window into Lanna tradition that most tourists miss entirely.
Songkran aside, the Buddhist holidays — Makha Bucha (Feb/Mar), Visakha Bucha (May/Jun) and Asanha Bucha with Khao Phansa, the start of Buddhist Lent (Jul) — are public holidays and "dry days" when alcohol sales are banned nationwide (bars and shops can't legally sell). Worth knowing before you plan a night out or a party.
New Year's Eve (31 December) — Chiang Mai does a big countdown, and people release lanterns and float krathongs at the moat and temples; smaller than Yi Peng but festive.
Muay Thai fight nights (year-round, not date-bound) — not a festival, but the closest thing Chiang Mai has to a nightly cultural spectacle: Thaphae Boxing Stadium in the Old City runs fights Monday to Saturday from around 9pm (doors ~8pm), 6–7 bouts a night with Thai and international fighters. Tickets run roughly ฿600 ($18) for stadium seats up to ฿1,500 ($44) for VIP air-con seating with free-flow drinks. Worth doing once as a newcomer regardless of season; see Health & Fitness if you want to train rather than just watch, and Nightlife & Bars for the surrounding Old City bar scene.

Month-by-month: weather + what's on#

Use this to time an arrival, a visit from family, or an escape. "Burning season" is the single most important planning variable — more so than any festival.

January — Cool season, peak. Cool, dry, blue skies, some genuinely cold mornings. Bo Sang Umbrella Festival (3rd weekend). Excellent month; high tourist season.
February — Cool season, gorgeous. Flower Festival (1st weekend). Air still generally good early in the month, but the first haze can appear late Feb. Best-weather month for many.
March — Burning season, worst month. Hot and increasingly smoky; AQI regularly unhealthy and Chiang Mai has ranked among the world's most polluted cities in March (it did so repeatedly in March 2026). Sensitive people and families with young kids often plan to be away. Few festivals for good reason.
April — Hot season peak + burning season tail. The hottest month (up to ~40°C) and often still very smoky into mid-April. Songkran (13–15, city ~11–19) is the saving grace — and the water is welcome. Rain usually starts clearing the air by late April/May.
May — Transition. Building humidity, first pre-monsoon storms clear the smoke; the city turns green again. Inthakin Festival at Wat Chedi Luang (mid-May). Air improving fast — an underrated month.
June — Rainy season begins properly. Warm, humid, short heavy afternoon downpours, clean air, low crowds and prices. Good value.
July — Rainy season. Lush and green; Asanha Bucha & Khao Phansa (Buddhist Lent begins — dry days). Comfortable if you don't mind daily rain.
August — Rainy season peak, wettest month. Heaviest, most constant rain — but rarely all-day. Very quiet, very green, cheapest accommodation.
September — Rainy season, still wet. Peak monsoon tails off toward month-end. Low season prices continue.
October — Rain easing; clear, fresh air; countryside at its greenest. Vegetarian Festival (10–18 in 2026). One of the nicest, most under-rated months to arrive.
November — Cool season begins; the marquee month. Loy Krathong & Yi Peng (~24–26 in 2026). Perfect weather, biggest festival — book everything early.
December — Cool season. Cool, dry, sunny; high tourist season; New Year countdown at the moat. Lovely.

Arts, music & sporting events worth putting in the calendar#

Beyond the traditional festivals, Chiang Mai's creative and sporting calendar has a clear peak in December, when the cool-season weather is perfect and the city fills with pop-up culture. These are the annual fixtures worth knowing:

Chiang Mai Design Week (early December) — the city's flagship creative festival, run by Thailand's Creative Economy Agency (CEA) around the TCDC/Old City and Nimman. Expect installations, exhibitions, design markets, talks and light shows across dozens of venues; mostly free to wander. The 2026 edition runs 5–13 December. It's become one of the best weeks of the year to be in town.
Nimmanhaemin Art & Design Promenade — "NAP" (first week of December) — the long-running open-air art-and-craft fair along Nimman Soi 1, with artist studios, craft stalls, live acoustic music and street food. Free, family-friendly, and it overlaps neatly with Design Week for a culture-packed early December.
Chiang Mai Coffee Week (mid-January) — a four-day celebration of Northern Thai coffee at Jing Jai (JJ) Market, with 200-plus roasters and vendors; the 2026 edition ran 15–18 January. If coffee is part of why you're moving here, this is the calendar highlight (see Food & Groceries). Smaller café pop-ups recur through the year too — e.g. One Nimman's Chong Chong Fest around the April–May long weekend.
Chiang Mai Marathon (December) — the city's big annual road race, starting at Tha Phae Gate with full/half/10K/mini distances through the Old City and countryside in cool-season air. 2026 is scheduled for Sunday 20 December. There's also a separate trail series (Chiangmai Thailand by UTMB) for off-road runners. See Health & Fitness for run clubs and training.

Dates for these shift by a week or two each year and some are announced only a few months out, so confirm nearer the time — but the seasons they land in (creative events cluster in December; coffee in January) are reliable.

Film festivals — a fast-growing calendar#

Chiang Mai's film scene has expanded quickly over the last couple of years — enough that a local media outlet has floated it as an emerging "Asian film capital" contender — and there are now several distinct film festivals worth knowing about rather than one:

Chiang Mai Film Festival — a local/independent festival centred on Thai and regional cinema, run out of TCDC Chiang Mai (the Creative Design Center). The 2026 edition, themed "Local in Motion," runs 24–26 July — screenings, exchange activities and an awards announcement on the closing day. Small, mostly free or low-cost, and a good one for anyone interested in the local arts scene rather than blockbuster premieres.
Oscar Film Festival Chiang Mai — a season of that year's Oscar-nominated and winning films, screened through March at Wednesday Shine Cinema on Nimmanhaemin Road. A relaxed, arthouse-cinema way to catch award-season titles you'd otherwise have missed.
Japanese Film Festival — an annual free season (Japan Foundation Bangkok programme extended to Chiang Mai) of contemporary and classic Japanese cinema with English and Thai subtitles. The 2026 Chiang Mai leg ran 27 February–1 March at the Chiang Mai University Communication Innovation Center auditorium; free to attend but advance registration is required and seats go quickly.
CIFAN (Chiang Mai International Fantastic Film Festival) — the genre-film festival (horror, sci-fi, fantasy) that's carved out its own niche; the 2025 edition ran 21–26 September at Chiang Mai Railway Park. It's a newer, still-establishing event, so check cifanfest.com nearer the time for confirmed 2026 dates rather than assuming the same September window repeats.

None of these are essential-to-plan-your-move-around the way Yi Peng or Songkran are, but if cinema is part of what you're looking for in a city, Chiang Mai now has a real, spread-through-the-year festival circuit rather than a single annual event.

Public holidays & "dry days" — a quick reference#

Two practical things catch newcomers out: shops, banks and government offices close on public holidays (immigration included — plan visa runs around them, see Visas & Visa Agents), and Thailand bans alcohol sales nationwide on several Buddhist holidays and on election days (the so-called "dry days" — bars, restaurants and shops legally cannot sell alcohol, though some quietly serve).

Thailand had 21 official public holidays in 2026, plus Cabinet-declared "bridge" days that create long weekends (2026 added an extra holiday on 2 January, for example). The fixed anchors most relevant to a resident:

1 Jan — New Year's Day; 13–15 Apr — Songkran; 1 May — Labour Day; 28 Jul — King Vajiralongkorn's Birthday; 12 Aug — Mother's Day (Queen Mother's birthday); 23 Oct — Chulalongkorn Day; 5 Dec — Father's Day / late King's birthday; 10 Dec — Constitution Day; 31 Dec — New Year's Eve.
Lunar Buddhist holidays that move each year (and are "dry days"): Makha Bucha (Feb/Mar), Visakha Bucha (May/Jun), and Asanha Bucha with Khao Phansa/start of Buddhist Lent (Jul — was 29 Jul in 2026). Alcohol sales are banned on these days.

If a holiday falls on a weekend, the following Monday is usually taken in lieu. Cabinet occasionally adds bridge holidays late, so check the current year's finalised list before booking travel or assuming an office is open.

Planning ahead — 2027 dates at a glance#

Lunar dates for 2027 are estimates until officially confirmed (usually finalised a few months out), but they're close enough to book flights around:

Loy Krathong & Yi Peng: around 13–14 November 2027 (Loy Krathong on Sun 14 Nov; Yi Peng the nights of 13–14 Nov).
Songkran: 13–15 April 2027 (fixed every year).
Flower Festival: first weekend of February 2027 (expect ~5–7 Feb; confirm nearer the time).
Vegetarian / Jay Festival: late September / early October 2027 (nine days, lunar — confirm).
Bo Sang Umbrella Festival: third weekend of January 2027.
Inthakin (City Pillar) Festival: mid-to-late May 2027 at Wat Chedi Luang.

Re-verify all 2027 lunar dates against the Tourism Authority of Thailand before making non-refundable bookings — they can shift by a day or two once confirmed.

Practical takeaways for a relocation#

If you get to choose your arrival window, land between late October and February — best weather, biggest festivals, and you'll be settled before burning season. Plan an escape for March–April if you can; many long-term residents treat it as a "go somewhere with clean air" period every year, and it's worth building into your annual budget and calendar (see Cost of Living and Day Trips & Getting Out). Book flights and out-of-town accommodation months ahead for the Yi Peng week in November and for Songkran in April — these are the two times the city genuinely fills up. And remember the dry days: several Buddhist holidays and election days ban alcohol sales, so don't get caught out.

The venues on this page#

Every fixed venue named above, with map links:

Tha Phae Gate
The reliable Old City street shot: brick gate, pigeons, moat and festival backdrop. Best early morning or lit at night.
Tha Phae Gate, Ratchadamnoen Rd, Old City, Mueang, Chiang Mai · Map
Suan Buak Hat Park
The Old City's main public park; centre of the early-February Flower Festival displays.
Bamrung Buri Rd, Phra Sing, Mueang, Chiang Mai (SW corner of the Old City) · Map
Nawarat Bridge
Ping River road bridge east of the Old City; starting point of the Flower Festival parade each February.
Tha Phae Rd / Charoen Mueang Rd, crossing the Ping River, Mueang, Chiang Mai · Map
Warorot Market (Kad Luang)
Working local market of flower garlands, dried goods and food stalls; great daytime colour and characterful vendors.
Wichayanon Rd, Chang Moi, Mueang, Chiang Mai · Map
Wat Chedi Luang
Old City temple running free, informal English Monk Chat sessions.
103 Prapokklao Rd, Phra Sing, Mueang, Chiang Mai 50200 · Map
Bo Sang Umbrella Village
Handicraft village famed for hand-painted paper umbrellas; annual umbrella festival in January.
Bo Sang, San Kamphaeng District, Chiang Mai · Map
Thaphae Boxing Stadium฿600–1,500
The only Muay Thai venue inside the Old City moat; fights Mon–Sat from around 9pm.
1 Mun Mueang Rd, Phra Sing, Mueang, Chiang Mai 50100 · Map
TCDC Chiang Mai (Thailand Creative & Design Center)
Creative Economy Agency design library and exhibition space; hub venue for Design Week and the Chiang Mai Film Festival.
1/1 Muang Samut Rd, behind Muang Mai Market, Chang Moi, Mueang, Chiang Mai 50300 · Map
Wednesday Shine Cinema
Small arthouse screening room on Nimman; home of the Oscar Film Festival Chiang Mai season each March.
Inside MOReSPACE, Nimmanhaemin Rd, Su Thep, Mueang, Chiang Mai (no street number published — confirm before travelling) · Map
Communication Innovation Center Auditorium, Chiang Mai University
University auditorium used for free public screenings, including the annual Japanese Film Festival leg.
Auditorium, 3rd floor, Communication Innovation Center (CIC), Faculty of Mass Communication, Chiang Mai University, Su Thep, Mueang, Chiang Mai 50200 · Map
Chiang Mai Railway Station Park
Renovated public park beside the railway station; open-air venue for CIFAN and other outdoor events.
Charoen Mueang Rd, Wat Ket, Mueang, Chiang Mai (beside Chiang Mai railway station) · Map
Jing Jai Market (JJ Market)
Weekend organic farmers' and handicraft market north of the Old City; hosts Chiang Mai Coffee Week each January.
46 Atsadathon Rd, Pa Tan, Mueang, Chiang Mai 50300 · Map
One Nimman
Nimman lifestyle complex that frequently hosts pop-up craft and clay classes on its events calendar.
Map

Dates for lunar festivals move each year. The 2026 dates above were confirmed from Tourism Authority of Thailand and event listings as of July 2026; verify the following year's dates before making firm plans.