The Citylife Garden Fair has been a nomadic affair over the past seven years since we sold our fabulous old office in 2011. To be honest, as nostalgic as I am about the garden of my childhood, it wouldn’t fit in a tenth of the crowds we’ve been pulling at recent fairs, so in spite of wistful homesickness, I agree with Dr. Pangloss that everything is for the best in this best of all possible worlds.
After tearfully waving our old office goodbye, Citylife Garden Fair initially moved to the charming Jing Jai Market, but after a few years we found ourselves migrating to the Chiang Mai University Art Museum as Jing Jai was bursting at the seams as over 5,000 visitors flooded the annual event and space became even tighter following the success of their Saturday Jing Jai Farmers Market which ran at the same time. It’s always hard to move such a large event, but last year’s spacious and lovely grounds at the ideally-located Art Museum on Nimmanhaemin Road was a huge hit and all 10,000 or so visitors managed to wander around with plenty of space to spare. We were looking forward to hanging our peripatetic hat and settling down for good at the museum, but as it is an education institute certain ahem, items were prohibited from sale, and as our event gains more and more eyes and feet each year, we thought it best to find a private location where we could finally settle in, get comfortable, and make into a permanent Citylife Garden Fair home.
I am pleased to tell you that we have discovered Boonthavorn Garden, a really spacious, landscaped, (mostly)shady garden behind the massive home depot store just two minutes’ drive from Promenada Mall. Not only is there ample space, parking for well over 1,000, but Boonthavorn has stepped up to become great partners we hope to work with for many years to come. They have kindly offered us the space for free, invited the local villagers to participate, helped us find sponsors, donated 5,000 cloth bags for your non-plastic shopping pleasure, and even found us electric shuttles so the 400 metre walk from the carpark to the site doesn’t sap your energy before you have time to do all that shopping and dancing!
If you have been to any of our Citylife Garden Fairs over the years then you won’t need to read much further, but if you haven’t, trust me, you are in for a treat.
This year we already have at time of press, 300 stall booked, with space for around another hundred or so. We have some huge sponsors as usual including fair stalwarts 137 Pillars House, Georg Jenson and Jim Thompson.
There will be no problem selling alcohol, so we have extended the event ‘til 10pm which will also allow our fabulous bands and performers — Lanna Commins, Rasmee, The Odd Gods, Jai Yen and Binky, Fly by Pants to tease you with a few — to rock you (a bit)later into the night.
We have yet to settle on foundations to be this year’s fair beneficiaries, but by the time the magazine comes out on the 1st November we will have published the names of the great charities we have chosen to support.
At this point we are still asking for donations. So if you own a restaurant, café, hairdresser, or you have cooking or painting skills, please consider donating a voucher or your time, all 100% of monies raised from the auctions —silent or deafening! — as well as our tombola (similar to raffle) goes to charities.
This year we will also ask you to kindly donate 20 baht as you enter, though this is merely a request and you are by no means obliged to if you are unable. We want you all to come, so no pressure, but wouldn’t it be great if we could raise just that little bit more money for our local charities?
Bring the family, invite friends and make sure you take your time and spend the day as there will be so many activities to join, food to eat, drinks to sip, games to play, items to bid on, tickets to win off and bands to dance to.
Please help spread the word. This is one day a year when our readers come together and I just love it and hope that you do too.
See you at the fair!
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