Thailand comes to Antique to spruce up Binirayan Festival
San Jose, Antique -- A bit of Thailand comes to Antique on April 23 as a six-day exhibit-sale of handwoven products from said country opens, pairing up with Antique's own signature product like the patadyong. The exhibit-sale dubbed "Rara kag Habul: handweaving from Antique and Thailand " runs from April 23 – 28 at the lobby of the Antique Provincial Capitol in San Jose town and will also showcase interesting arts and crafts from both areas.
"Rara kag Habul" is one of the highlights of this year's Binirayan Festival. It is jointly sponsored by the Binirayan Foundation Inc (BFI), the Provincial Government of Antique and the Srinakharinworot University of Bangkok, Thailand.
According to Antique Governor Sally Zaldivar-Perez, the exhibit is part of Antique's cultural exchange as it attempts to find links and common ground with other cultures in the Asian region. Perez said that "learning the culture of other countries alongside our own will better prepare us to meet the challenge of globalization." She also said that "the Thai exhibit brings fresh dimension to our annual Binirayan Festival as we share our "varicolored culture" with our asian neighbors."
Alex delos Santos, executive director of BFI says that aside from the products, Antiquenos will also have the opportunity to witness Thai rituals as some of these will be performed during the opening and closing program of the exhibit-sale such as the water pouring ceremonies and the "sai sin." Delos Santos explains that "Sai sin" is a good luck ritual among Thais that entails the putting of white thread around the wrists of guests.
Delos Santos also said that the exhibit comes to Antique at a time when Thais are celebrating their "songran" or the Thai New Year. How the Thais celebrate this will also be part of the exhibit.
Bringing the exhibit to Antique is a team of professors from the Srinakharinwirot University led by Dr Maria Laosunthara, a native of Sibalom, Antique who made a mark in that country as one of its pioneering university librarians.
Proceeds of the exhibit-sale will benefit the Antique Provincial Library and the Museo Antiqueño which will be formally opened on April 27.