Five Teacher Universities Partner with Bangkok on Cultural Heritage Festival
Five teacher universities partnered with Bangkok to host a cultural heritage festival at Kalyanamitr Voravihara Temple on September 12-13, 2025, celebrating local wisdom, arts, and waterside cuisine through vendor markets, traditional recip
Five Ratanakosin-group teacher universities—Chantaburi Rajabhat, Ban Somdej Chaopraya Rajabhat, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat, Phranakhon Rajabhat, and Thonburi Rajabhat—partnered with Bangkok to hold the "Charm of Palaces, Canals, and Markets" cultural festival. Held at Kalyanamitr Voravihara Temple on September 12-13, 2025, the event showcased local wisdom, arts, culture, and food heritage along Bangkok's waterways.
Associate Professor Dr. Suphanni Phuddhasrichap, Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences at Chantaburi Rajabhat University, explained that the festival aimed to jointly promote, conserve, and disseminate the value of historical and cultural heritage and community lifestyles in Bangkok, particularly those shaped by palaces, canals, and markets. These elements are not merely historical traces but living cultural capital that can be developed to create social, economic, and educational value for present and future generations.
"This project emphasizes cooperation between universities, government agencies, the private sector, youth, students, and communities to share knowledge and local wisdom, foster participation in cultural heritage preservation, and develop cultural capital into sustainable creative economies and cultural tourism," Dr. Suphanni said.
Activities included sales from over 40 local food and community product vendors, exhibitions and demonstrations of traditional recipes from all five universities, a Thai country music singing competition with dancers, and a seminar titled "Local Waterside Cuisine: The Charm of Homemade Flavors" featuring four food experts.
Dr. Suphanni added that the seminar is part of a soft-power project to elevate cuisine from three canals—Bangkhen, Premprachakon, and Lad Prao—carried out by Chantaburi Rajabhat University with surrounding communities. The initiative seeks to discover, gather, and develop knowledge about local foods and the stories and wisdom behind them, recognizing that local cuisine reflects lifestyle, people, and the relationship between community and place.
