This is the latest information I have about the mass sky lantern release at Mae Jo which is scheduled to be held in November 2015. Unlike previous years, there will be no free lantern release at Mae Jo this year. But there will be a lantern release at Mae Jo for which you have to buy a ticket. Please note, the event at Mae Jo is privately arranged by an independent Buddhist group; this is not the Yi Peng Festival. The actual Yi Peng Festival, which is free to attend, is still taking place in Chiang Mai as usual. If you haven’t already done so, please take some time to read the articles below which provide all the background information about the two separate events.
Yi Peng Festival
Mass sky lantern release at Mae Jo
The Mae Jo event organisers haven’t responded to any of my emails or requests for information about the 2015 event. However, a number of readers of this site have received a canned response via the organisers’ Facebook page over the last few weeks which I’ve shown below (thank you to Thaizer readers, Anna, Tracy and Walter for forwarding the message they received). The official response also tallies with what I’ve been told informally by Thai friends and travel agents in Chiang Mai. Duangtawan Santiparp Foundation, the private Buddhist group who arrange the Mae Jo event, say there will only be one sky lantern release at their temple this year. This lantern release will only be open to people who have bought tickets in advance. This is the statement, reproduced verbatim, from the Mae Jo event organisers:
Update: September 1, 2015According to the announcement from the Chiangmai province,
the lanterns can be launched only in Loy Krathong day (Yeepeng festival) on 25 NOV. The event which is the special day of Buddhist ceremony that used to have the activity of launching lanterns will be held on 21 NOV. Thus, the event on 21 NOV. WILL NOT HAVE the launching lantern activity. This year event of YEEPENG LANNA INTERNATIONAL will be held on 25 NOV. The event organised by Duangtawan Santipap for an expected foreign guests whose register to attend the event. If you interested the event on Nov.25 is organised by Duangtawan Santiparp for an expected foreign guests, pls contact Ms.Pitsami 086-920-0842
[email protected]
www.pitchiangmai.com
When the organisers talk about ‘the event which is the special day of Buddhist ceremony’ they are talking about the Lanna Kathina Robes Ceremony. That merit-making event will still take place this year as it usually does with the date scheduled for November 21. However, unlike previous years there will be no mass sky lantern release in the evening. I’m not sure whether tourists are still welcome to attend the daytime Khatina Robes Ceremony or not. I would assume they are, but from personal experience in previous years the vast majority of overseas visitors in attendance were only interested in the free sky lantern release in the evening.
There will still be a sky lantern release at Mae Jo this year, but it won’t be free to enter and is aimed at tourists not locals. It will take place on November 25 and is only open to ticket holders. Tickets have to be purchased in advance with prices ranging from USD100-300.
It’s your decision to make. I’ve had feedback from visitors in recent years who did go to the paid lantern release at Mae Jo and they say they enjoyed it. Personally speaking, I think it’s a lot of money to pay to attend a stage-managed event where you will be surrounded by hundreds of other tourists.
Instead of paying a lot of money to go to the private event at Mae Jo, I would recommend going to the actual Yi Peng Festival in Chiang Mai which is where you will find the locals enjoying the festivities. You will still see hundreds of sky lanterns being released throughout the night. You’ll also see krathongs floated on the water and witness colourful street parades.
Ticket enquiries should be directed to the event organisers. You can also try asking at your hotel in Chiang Mai or at travel agents in the city. If you do decide you want to go the paid event at Mae Jo, you should use your own judgement when deciding who to buy tickets from.
The organisers suggest it is to meet requirements issued by the Chiang Mai municipal authorities. According to the statement, they have been instructed that sky lanterns can only be launched on the actual night of Yi Peng (i.e November 25). Whether that is true or not, I don’t know.
It could also simply be that the private event at Mae Jo has got too big for its own good. There has been a huge surge in interest in the event over the last few years, particularly from Chinese tourists. I’m also aware from Thai friends in Chiang Mai that there has been a sharp increase in the number of complaints from Thai Buddhists attending the free event at Mae Jo. Sadly, those complaints relate to poor behaviour from a significant minority of the tourists in attendance at the lantern release. I’ve witnessed this myself over the last two years, so that too could be a factor in the decision taken this year. Ultimately, it is a private event and up to the organisers how they want to plan it.
Whatever the reasons, you can still launch sky lanterns and participate in the proper Yi Peng Festival in Chiang Mai city.
This is Thailand so anything is possible. But from the tone of the statement from the event organisers and various other factors, I do think they will stick to their plan for 2015 and just have the one lantern release at Mae Jo which tourists have to pay to attend.
I have no idea. It could be a one-off decision for this year or it could be the end of the free sky lantern release at Mae Jo.
No. At the risk of repeating myself, the sky lantern release at Mae Jo is not the Yi Peng Festival. The Yi Peng Festival and Loy Krathong festivities will take place in and around Chiang Mai city from November 24-26 with street parades and sky lantern launches. If you are in Chiang Mai on November 25, you will see sky lanterns being launched all around the city and in surrounding districts with thousands of sky lanterns released throughout the evening.
Yi Peng night itself is always the same as Loy Krathong night and is determined by the full moon. This year, Yi Peng night is November 25.In previous years, sky lanterns have been launched for at least three nights during the Yi Peng Festival in Chiang Mai. It’s possible that local authorities are trying to restrict sky lantern launches this year to just the night of Yi Peng on November 25. However, whether that proves to be the case will remain to be seen and it will be very difficult for them to enforce even if they wanted to. I would still expect to see people launching sky lanterns in Chiang Mai on November 24 and 26, but November 25 will be the main day for releasing sky lanterns.
In Chiang Mai city, the Nawarat Bridge area and banks of the Ping River are popular spots for launching sky lanterns with krathongs floated on the water too. In previous years, the temple gardens at Wat Phan Tao have arranged a religious ceremony on Yi Peng night. The ceremony takes place in a tranquil candlelit garden and culminates with novice monks releasing sky lanterns. It’s beautiful to witness, but has become increasingly crowded in recent years as word has got out so get there early for a good spot. Check with the temple in person for details of this year’s event.
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Please do not email me about the event at Mae Jo unless you have some new information to add that isn’t included here or you have feedback on buying tickets. If I become aware of any changes, I will update this article. Thank you for your understanding.
