The winter fair is an annual festival of Chiang Mai held around the end of December to the beginning of January, the best time of winter to celebrate its beauty. The weather is fair, nature is filled with blossoms of flowers and winter fruits such as oranges and strawberries flourish the land. The fair today is held at the governments vacant land behind the new Provincial Hall.
The winter fair was a continuous tradition expanded from the Agriculture Show, an exhibition to present the work of students form Chang Phueak Teachers Training School (the present Rajabhat University) in 1931. The exhibition was discontinued until Phraya Anubanpayapkit (Pun Asanachinda) The Deputy Governor of the Payap Region brought back the exhibition and renamed it to a winter fair to become the annual festival for Chiang Mai locals. The objectives were 1) to raise funds to support education in the province, 2) to find funds to support the agriculture crops growing and herding of riding animals and livestock.
The money was collected from the rent of booths and entrance fees. Each ticket to the fair would have a number that is used to draw for the big prize. This gimmick became a point of interest drawing people to come and buy tickets to the fair. Even some fair commissioners who had free tickets would buy them to try out their luck. Therefore, each winter fair could collect a large amount of money for the host.
From the winter crops exhibition to the winter fair, many changes have been made to it. The site and activities changed for a wider variety of contests.
The fairgrounds have changed many times. The first time it was held at Yupparaj Wittayalai School in 1936. Then it was moved to the Municipal Stadium in 1954. And finally the present site at the vacant government land behind the new Chiang Mai Provincial Hall on Chiang Mai-Mae Rim Road. The fair has a variety of contests due to its being a fair with booths and shops from different sectors, both governmental and non-governmental. For example the charity shops of the Chiang Mai Red Cross, booths exhibiting activities of the Royal Irrigation Department, an exhibition of the Ministry of Economic Affairs products, the traffic regulations show, bombing games by the 21st mixed-air group and activities and performances by Chiang Mai University. The non-government booths were for such groups as Chiang Mai Samitr, Niyom Pahich, Singer, Esso and Thai Saguan Company. Foreign government offices also joined the fair activities, for example the booths of the Union of Burma (Myanmar) and the British Information Service (B.I.S).
The Management of the fair was the beauty pageant contest held on two stages. The first one was the Miss Chiang Mai held the first time in 1933 with contestants from all districts of Chiang Mai whose birth place was in Chiang Mai. The other contest was the Miss Thin Thai Ngam with contestants from all 17 provinces of the northern region. The winners usually came from Pa Sang District, Lamphun province or San Kamphaeng District, Chiang Mai making the two districts famous of having the most beautiful women. These pageants usually worked as sales representatives of local products stores like silk or cotton stores for a big customer attraction.
The beauty contest was an interest of the women in the north because the ones who won the prize here got a chance to enter the national contest or the Miss Thailand Beauty Contest in which many winners who came from Chiang Mai had also won the Miss Thailand (some for example, Miss Nuansawat Langkaphin, Rungthip Phinyo, Duangchan Boonsri, Netsai Chalathan and Ornanong Panyawong.
In the past the two contests in the fair was counted the biggest and could attract the public to come. In the afternoon a beauty parade went around the city starting from the Railway Hotel to the stage. In some years, horses and vespas were added to the parade with crowds of people filling up the walk ways on both sides of the roads. In some years the Miss Thailand was invited to join the events adding even more interest to the show. In 1965 Apasara Hongsakula, Miss Universe 1965 came to present the crown and sash to Miss Chiang Mai.
There was a joke that in the coldest night of the beauty pageants in the past, when the contestants in the swimsuits were slowly fancying on stage in their sweetest smiles, and finally stepped down and returned behind the stage, they would hurry to run and stand around the fire from the rows of coal stoves to warm themselves.
Today, fewer people come to the winter fair because there are more alternatives events. Moreover, some people think that the fair is more or less a temple fair and most goods sold in the fair could be found elsewhere. The charm of the beauty contest has vanished. Only a certain groups of people are still interested in viewing the beauties on stage.
References
Anu Noenhad, Pol. Lt. Col. (2007). Sapa Rueng Kao (Miscellaneous stories of Chiang Mai in the past ). (in Thai). Retrieved April 8, 2007,
from http://www.thainews70.com/index-culture-arnu.php
Sarakhadi. (1997). Chiang Mai. (in Thai). Bangkok: Mueang Boran.
Sudara Suchachaya. (1997). Chiang Mai Daen Haeng Ton Than Sun Klang Khong A Na Chak Lae Sillapa Watthanatham Lanna. (Chiang Mai the Land of the Water Source ad Center of the Kingdom and Art of Lanna). (in Thai). Bangkok: Sarakhadi.
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