Thai-Am Success at Folk Fair (and King's Birthday)

The weekend before Thanksgiving, the Thai-American Association of Milwaukee participated as we always do in the Holiday Folk Fair International.  We had a special award this year as Apinya was named Honorary Chairperson for this year's Fair.  She gave the official opening for the Fair.

We had dancers, our food booth, our cultural booth, and our handicraft booth.

Peng and Pook, with their team, ran the food booth.  They had excellent massamun curry (my personal favorite), pad Thai, tasty appetizers, and my second favorite, Thai iced tea.

Noot and Mae, with Pongtip assisting, sold Thai and local handicrafts.  They always have some great Wisconsin-Thai connections like Harley themed Thai products!

At our cultural booth, we showed the traditional candle festival from Ubon Ratchathani.  Phra Phone and Phra Eo from Wat Buddhahaksa provided wonderful candles and artifacts for the display.

We added a couple of new dancers and danced the Sri Wichai dance.  Our dancers were the most beautiful at the Fair, though I may be slightly biased.

Thank everyone for all your help.


Reminder:  This Saturday we will honor the King of Thailand on the day of his birthday at Wat Buddhahaksa in Waukesha.  

Annual Thai Night (Plus Halloween Party!)

This Saturday, 24 October 2015, come to our annual Thai Night.

It's a good time at the VFW Hall in New Berlin.  (17980 W Beloit Rd, a mile west of the intersection of Moorland, Beloit, and I-43.)

If you're brave, wear a costume:  Scary or Thai.  Or both!

It's free, but bring a dish to share and we'll have lots of treats.

We'll have a sneak peek of our Folk Fair Dance Group.  Music, local talent, games, fun, contests.

Did I mention food?  Friends?  Yep, lots of both.  Be there!

Picnic! Thai-American Association of Milwaukee Annual Picnic! Picnic!

Sunday, 16 Aug 2015, 11:00 am to Dusk, Root River Parkway, Area 3 (map).

Potluck, bring a little something, and get a lot!

I think I made this clear in the last post (see below), but if you are reading this blog, you are invited.

If you have a facebook friend who is Thai, Thai-American, American-Thai, American with Thai family, American who can eat spicy food, or American who can't eat spicy food and that facebook friend posted something about this picnic, that means you're invited.

If you have ever wanted to come to a Thai-Am event, this is the one to get you started.  This is a low pressure, fun, food, family, friends (new and old) event.

No one will make you eat spicy food (unless you want to) and there will be plenty of farang food, too.  Farang means foreigner in Thai.  Look, now you know some Thai language, perfect, there's your connection, come out!

ANNUAL PICNIC 2015!

Everyone is invited.  Seriously, everyone.

The Thai-American Association of Milwaukee is a wide-open group with no formal membership.  Are you Thai?  Are you an American with Thai family?  Have you been to Thailand?  Are you hoping to visit Thailand some day?  Do you like Thai food?  If you answered yes to any of those questions, the Thai-Am Annual Picnic is for you.

The Annual Picnic is food, fun, friend, more food.

It's potluck, so bring a little something to share.  There's a shelter, so we don't mind the weather.  There's a playground and plenty of space for kids.

Sunday, 16 August 2015, 11:00 am to 5:00 pm.
Root River Parkway, Picnic Area 3.  (see map)

We hope to see all of our old friends and many new ones.

Asia Fest 2015--This Weekend (July 11 & 12)

(I'm sorry for the late notice...)

A new pan-Asian festival is taking off this weekend in Milwaukee:

Asia Fest 2015 (www.asiafestmlw.com).

For those who remember Asian Moon, I think this festival will have a similar feel.  Lots of music, performances, and dance.  Food.  Great food.  Some handicrafts and cultural displays.  Beautiful weather and family-friendly atmosphere.

Our Thai dancers will perform both days.  Saturday on Stage 1 a little after 4:00 pm and Sunday on Stage 2 just after 6:30.

Peng & Pook will have a Thai food stall.  It's a pan-Asian festival, all kinds of good food--Indian, Chinese, Lao, Hmong, Indonesian, etc--but, seriously, THAI FOOD!

Come out and support the Thai-American Association's participation and the overall festival and just have a great time on the lakefront!

PICNIC!

The Thai-American Association's Annual Picnic is one month away. 

Sunday, 24 August 2014, Noon - Dusk.
Root River Parkway, Area 3 - Same as every year!  (Map if you're new.) 

There will be tons of Thai food, a bit of non-Thai food for variety, fun, friends - new and old.

It's potluck, bring your favorite dish to share, a blanket, mat, or lawn chairs and enjoy the park.

We'll have volleyball/badminton for all ages and a game/activity time for kids.

If you have any interest in the Thai community, this is the event for you.  Lots of people, you can be as involved or as laid back as you want and get a taste of the diversity of Thai-Am.

Miss Noppamas & Folk Fair

The first weekend in November, a dozen of the Milwaukee Thai-Americans went down the to big temple in Chicago (Wat Dhammaram) to support Poi M. in the traditional Nang Noppamas beauty pageant.  Poi looked beautiful and graceful and placed in the runners-up.  An impressive finish for anyone from our organization; we don't have quite the heavy support of some of the big Chicago groups.

Isn't she gorgeous:

Nang Noppamas, or Lady Noppamas, is the legendary creator of Loy Kratong.  Loy Kratong is a festival in late autumn to send wishes, prayers, and thanks to the water goddess.  "Loy" means to float and "kratong" is a small raft of flowers, incense, a candle, and a coin or two.  One makes a kratong, carries it to the nearest body of water and floats it away at evening time with prayers and hopes for the coming year.

My own personal, grumpy opinion is that Loy Kratong is a far more enjoyable holiday than the more famous Songkran (Thai New Year--Lots of water, thrown, sprayed, generally tossed about).


Next weekend:  

International Holiday Folk Fair
22-24 November 2013  
Wisconsin Exhibition Center (State Fair Park)
www.folkfair.org

Thai-Am has a cultural booth, a handicraft booth, a FOOD booth, adult dance performers, and youth dance performers.  We may have a recipe demonstration or two--I'll confirm.

Come help out.  Come to enjoy.  Email:  thaiammilwaukee@gmail.com to volunteer or to pick up advance tickets for $10 each ($12 at the door).