Phuket City Mayor Suphot La-ongphet presided over the opening, from 5-7pm, alongside municipal executives, council members, senior officials, police, community leaders, teachers, students, cultural network partners, and members of the public, said an official report of the event.
Tourists and media also joined the large gathering at Queen Sirikit Park and the shrine on Takua Thung Rd, the report added.
The festival, one of Phuket’s most important traditional events, honours ancestors and pays respect to spirits with offerings of food, red turtle cakes and cultural performances. This year’s celebration is being held under the theme ‘Awakening Faith, Weaving the Bonds of Ancestors’.
The Por Tor Festival runs until Sept 21 at the Por Tor Kong Bang Niao Shrine, with additional events scheduled at other key cultural venues.
Activities continue today (Sept 11) at the Phuket Thai Hua Museum on Krabi Rd, from 5pm. Tomorrow (Sept 12), a ceremony will be held at 1pm in the Ao Kae Community on Takua Pa Rd.
Mayor Suphot said the festival not only preserves Phuket’s cultural heritage but also helps stimulate tourism by drawing visitors to experience the island’s unique Peranakan-Chinese traditions