Venue
Ton Pao, San Kamphaeng District, Chiang Mai, Thailand
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Bo Sang Umbrella Festival, Chiang Mai guide
Paper parasols painted at the roadside.
In short
Bo Sang's festival usually takes three days over the third weekend of January, suggesting 15 to 17 January 2027, though Ton Pao municipality had not confirmed it by October 2026. Artisans make bamboo and mulberry paper umbrellas in view, with floats and a pageant in the evenings. It suits craft lovers based in Chiang Mai.
Bo Sang has made hand-painted paper parasols for more than a century, and once a year the village east of Chiang Mai turns its trade into a street fair. Artisans work at the roadside in full view, splitting bamboo and stretching mulberry paper, while floats and a beauty pageant take over the evenings.
The official name, Bo Sang Umbrella and Sankhampaeng Handicrafts Festival, hints at its reach. Stands carry work from villages right across San Kamphaeng district, so the parasols share the road with other northern crafts. What makes it worth the trip is watching a canopy go from bare ribs to painted blossoms in the space of one afternoon.
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Key Facts & Stats:
Ends: Sunday, 17 January 2027
Where: Chiang Mai, Thailand
Venue: Bo Sang village
Held: Every year
Type of event: Cultural Events, Arts Festivals, Fair
Currency: Thai baht (฿ THB)
Time zone: UTC+7, no daylight saving
Language: Thai
Map
Getting around
Hotels near the venue fill up around the event dates.
Carrying small notes for the stalls
Carry cash, and plenty of it in small denominations. Many of the stalls along the main road, including the painters who decorate clothes and bags to order, take nothing else. Withdraw money in Chiang Mai before you set out; the village may have no cash machine.
Paper parasols are lighter than they look but easily dented. If you buy a large one, ask the seller to wrap it and carry it closed. Before paying, check that the canopy opens and folds smoothly; the frames are handmade and each one behaves a little differently.
What to wear for warm days and cool nights
January days in Chiang Mai average close to 30°C, but nights drop to around 15°C and the festival runs until 21:00. Wear something light for the afternoon and bring a long-sleeved layer for the parade.
- Comfortable shoes: the fair is a long walk up and down one road
- A hat for the early afternoon, when there is little shade on the street
- A small bag that closes, since the evening crowd is dense near the floats
Photographing artisans and the bicycle parade
The painters and frame makers are working, not posing. Ask before you lean in for a close-up, and buy something or leave a small tip if someone stops to show you a technique. Never pick up drying canopies laid out by the roadside.
During the bicycle and float parades, stay behind the kerb line. The riders hold an open parasol in one hand and steer with the other, so a step into the road can bring one down. Late afternoon gives the softest light on the umbrellas; flash is of little use against the painted paper after dark.
What happens on the day
- 10:00
The street opens
Mornings are quiet: watch frames being shaped and canopies painted (2026 hours, 10:00 to 21:00).
- 14:00 and 15:30
Umbrella bicycle parade
Young women in traditional dress cycle through, each holding a painted parasol.
- Friday, 16:00 to 20:00
Opening ceremony and float parade
Umbrella-covered floats with Lanna music and dancers.
- Saturday
Painting contest and official ceremony
A morning painting contest, then the ceremony in the evening slot.
- Sunday, from 19:00
Miss Bo Sang Umbrella pageant
The closing night. Find a roadside spot half an hour before the floats are due.
Planning an afternoon trip from Chiang Mai
Our Chiang Mai guide weighs up the other districts.
Entry costs nothing. Your budget goes on rides, street food and whichever parasol you cannot leave behind. Plan one long visit. Reach the village by about 14:00 and the umbrella bicycle parade is about to roll, the painters along the road are in full flow, and you still have hours before the evening ceremonies begin.
Hiring a car or a driver for the day opens up more of the district. The hot springs and the Muang On cave both pair well with the festival, so spend the morning there and come back to the village as the light softens. If you keep the driver into the evening, agree a pickup point and time before the floats arrive. The street is hard to drive along once the parade crowd gathers.
The legend of Phra Inthaa and Bo Sang's umbrella craft
Village tradition gives the credit to a monk. The story goes that Phra Inthaa, travelling close to the Burmese frontier over a hundred years ago, came across paper parasols and carried the skill back to Bo Sang's farmers. His statue stands at the village entrance today. Most of those farming families trace their roots to Tai Lue people who moved south from Yunnan, and umbrella making fitted neatly into the dry months between rice harvests.
The trade became organised in 1941, when producers formed a cooperative. In the 1950s government promotion pushed Bo Sang parasols into the first rank of northern Thai crafts. The festival counted its 40th edition in 2025.
Watch one canopy from start to finish if you can. Bamboo is split into fine ribs and fixed to a frame, sheets of mulberry-bark paper are stretched across, and only then does the painter start, freehand, usually with flowers. Ask the price of a plain canopy and then of a painted one. The gap between them is the painter's time, and watching the work makes it easier to judge.
Getting there
Flying into Thailand
Long-haul flights land in Bangkok at Suvarnabhumi (BKK) or Don Mueang (DMK). Check entry rules for your passport on our Thailand visa page.
Bangkok to Chiang Mai
Fly north with Bangkok to Chiang Mai flights into Chiang Mai International (CNX); CNX also has direct flights from Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong. Overnight trains take 12 to 15 hours.
Airport to town
The official taxi desk charges a fixed 150 baht into town for up to five people. Straight to the fair, a Grab or taxi takes 20 to 30 minutes.
To Bo Sang
Take San Kamphaeng Road (Route 1006). White songthaews to San Kamphaeng leave from around Warorot Market; the board is in Thai only, so tell the driver Bo Sang. Red songthaews will go too; agree the fare first.
Where to stay during the festival
Almost everyone sleeps in Chiang Mai and rides out for the afternoon. January is high season, so reserve a room a few weeks before you fly.
Staying inside or near the moat keeps the ride out short.
Chiang Mai
137 Pillars House5-star hotel
No reviews yet
from$400.00/ night
- Internet – Wifi
- Airport shuttle
- Swimming pool
5 Rooms available
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Weather and what to pack
January is Chiang Mai's cool, dry season. The city averages a high of 30°C and a low of 15.7°C, with about 11 mm of rain on a single day (1991-2020 normals).
Afternoons in the village are warm; evenings for the float parade are cool enough for a light layer.
Worth packing
- A light layer for the evening parades
- Sun hat and sunscreen
- Cash for parasols and painting
- A tote bag or tube for a parasol on the flight home
Car hire in Chiang Mai
Airport transfer to Bo Sang Umbrella Festival, Chiang Mai
Met at arrivals at Chiang Mai International Airport (CNX) and driven door to door to Bo Sang village.
- Chiang Mai International Airport (CNX) → Bo Sang village
- 18 km · 30 min
Restaurants and food in Thailand
Places to eat in Thailand before or after the celebrations.
Yamazato
24th floor, Park Ventures Ecoplex, 57 Wireless Road, Bangkok 10330
Cuisine:KaisekiEdomae sushi
- Dine-in
- Takeaway
- Delivery
Vertigo
61st Floor, Banyan Tree Bangkok, 21/100 South Sathorn Road, Thung Maha Mek, Sathon, Bangkok 10120, Thailand
Cuisine:GrillInternational
- Dine-in
- Outdoor seating
- Bar
Khao Soi Mae Sai
29/1 Ratchaphruek Road, Chang Phueak, Mueang Chiang Mai, Chiang Mai 50300, Thailand
Cuisine:Northern ThaiNoodles
- Dine-in
- Takeaway
Raya Restaurant
48/1 Dibuk Road, Talat Yai, Mueang Phuket District, Phuket 83000, Thailand
Cuisine:Southern ThaiPhuket
- Dine-in
- Takeaway
Sorn
56 Soi Sukhumvit 26, Khlong Tan, Khlong Toei, Bangkok 10110, Thailand
Cuisine:Southern ThaiFine dining
- Dine-in
Jay Fai
327 Maha Chai Road, Samran Rat, Phra Nakhon, Bangkok 10200, Thailand
Cuisine:ThaiStreet food
- Dine-in
- Takeaway
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Prices & payment
No. The fair is free to enter and the parades and stage shows cost nothing to watch. You only pay for what you buy, ride or eat.
General
Yes. Painters along the main road will put a design, usually a flower motif, onto a bag, phone case or shirt while you wait. Agree the price and the design first, and bring cash.
It is a traditional northern Thai market laid out for the festival days beside the craft stands. Go early, while it is quiet and the stallholders have time to talk.
The organisers run painting contests on the Saturday and Sunday mornings, and the programme invites visitors to take part in painting and frame work. Rules and sign-up are handled on site, so ask at the festival stage on arrival.
The programme includes a Thai and Indonesian cultural exchange linked to a twin-city partnership. In 2026 those performances took place on the Saturday morning.
The local municipality of Ton Pao runs it through its tourism promotion office. That office is also the place to ask when dates for the next edition are still unconfirmed.
From a well. Villagers dug one beside a stand of phai zang bamboo, and the place became known as Bo Zang, later Bo Sang. In Thai, bo means a well.
Young women from the area in traditional dress, each cycling one-handed with an open painted parasol held above her.
Booking
The 2026 fair was the 41st. That makes the festival roughly four decades old, far younger than the craft it promotes, which villagers date back more than a century.
Timing & weather
Yes. The workshops and shops along the main road trade all year, so you can watch parasols being made on any ordinary day. The festival simply adds the parades, contests and extra stalls.
Stay & facilities
Street food stalls line the walking street through the village during the fair, alongside the craft stands, so you can stay for dinner in the village.