Rocket Time
Loas & Thailand | 2 May 2025 – 7 June 2025
Every year, villages across Laos and Thailand’s Northeast erupt with excitement during the Boun Bang Fai Rocket Festival – an ancient tradition to wake up the rain gods. The missiles fly from May 2-31 in Laos, while Thailand’s larger celebrations take place from May 16-18 in Yasothon, May 18-19 in Phayao and on June 7 in Roi Et.
Participants launch massive homemade rockets, competing for height and spectacle, while parades, traditional dances, and the sight of losing rocketeers being dunked in mud puddles add to the fun. In Laos, men dress in women’s clothes for lively dance shows, while paper-mâché elephants and horses are paraded through the villages before the grand rocket launch. Rooted in fertility and merit-making rituals, the Boun Bang Fai festival remains a dazzling event celebrating the power of rain and renewal.