Rice Festival in Xayaboury Province Starts Today

News in Asia
Rice Festival in Xayaboury Province Starts Today

Phieng district in Xayaboury province, Laos is getting ready for the annual Kong Khao Yai festival, or Rice festival. The festival starts today and will last till January, 12. The opening ceremony is scheduled for Thursday, January, 9.

This year, the festival will take place for the nineth time. Celebrating the district’s longstanding rice-growing tradition, the festival is gaining popularity year after year.

The program of the festival features a variety of activities including performances by local ethnic groups, a beauty pageant, and a local foods competition. Two major local ethnic groups, the Tong Leuang and the Tai Dam, will make visitors acquainted with their centuries-old traditions and offer glipmses into their daily life. At the fair, a wide range of products made of rice will be on sale. 

The festival will culminate in a colourful procession of villagers from Phieng district displaying different varieties of rice they have grown and construction of giant ceremonial haystacks. To get a deeper look into the region's rice growing history, it is recommended to visit the local rice museum.

Xayaboury (Sainyabul) province sits in the northwestern part of Laos. It is the only Lao province that is completely west of the Mekong River.

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