Water Festival: Boat Races to Be organized in Phnom Penh and Six Provinces
After a three-year hiatus, dragon boat races and other celebrations will be organized in six of Cambodia’s provinces for the upcoming Water Festival. Photo: Siem Reap Administration
- By Phat Dane
- October 23, 2023 2:05 PM
PHNOM PENH – After a three-year hiatus, dragon boat races and other celebrations will be organized in six of Cambodia’s provinces for the upcoming Water Festival.
Also known as Bon Om Tuk, the three-day national holiday is one of the only occasions of the year when people from the provinces flock to Phnom Penh to attend the dragon boat races on the Tonle Sap River, in front of the Royal Palace.
Festivities will take place from Nov. 26 to 28, with 2023 marking the festival’s return after being canceled for the last three years.
While the COVID-19 outbreak prevented big gatherings from taking place in both 2020 and 2021, the Water Festival couldn’t be organized in Phnom Penh last year because of security concerns.
Cambodia, which was the ASEAN Chair in 2022, was hosting the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits in Phnom Penh’s Sokha Hotel from Nov. 8 to 13, which were approximately the dates of the festival.
In addition to Phnom Penh, boat races will also be organized in Kandal, Prey Veng, and Battambang provinces in October, and in November for the provinces of Kampong Speu, Svay Rieng, and Siem Reap.
Kandal province will celebrate the event on Oct. 29 on the banks of the Bassac River in Takhmao city.
In Prey Veng province, the Water Festival will be held in Chong Prom commune, on the banks of the Kampong Lake.
In Battambang, boats will race on the Sangke River, from the Old Stone Bridge to the New Stone Bridge, on Oct. 28 and 29.
Kampong Speu and Svay Rieng provinces will both host festivities on Nov. 18 and 19, on the banks of the Prek Tnaot and Vaiko rivers respectively.
Siem Reap will be the only province – with Phnom Penh – to organize boat races on the official Water Festival dates, on Nov. 26 and 27. They will take place on the Siem Reap River, from the stone bridge close to the old tourism department to the stone bridge near Wat Bo Pagoda.
In addition to boat races, each province will host many activities such as floating lanterns, fireworks, local product fairs and concerts.
Originally written in Khmer for ThmeyThmey, this story was translated by Rin Ousa for Cambodianess.
