A Songkran Festival is celebrated in Annandale

*Nattida Kaouan (center) was crowned Miss Songkran 2026.*

Community members celebrated the Thai Songkran (New Year’s) Festival in Annandale on May 30 with food, dance, music, a ritual ceremony, a beauty contest, a fashion show, and a Muay Thai demonstration.

The event, at ACCA Child Development Center parking lot at 7200 Columbia Pike, was hosted by the Thai American Association of Washington D.C. and the Thai Cultural Council of Washington, D.C.

*The younger generation blesses their elders.*

Celebrants participated in a traditional ritual where members of the younger generation blessed the older generation. Children gave flower garlands to the elders and poured water from a chalice on their hands, as a way of thanking them for their contributions.

*Bathing a statue of Buddha is a Songkran custom, as water is a sacred symbol representing purity and mindfulness.*

Ten women in elaborate outfits competed in the Miss Songkran beauty contest. The judges declared Nattida Kauoan, from Chiang Mai, the winner. She received a gift voucher worth $500 from event sponsor Supen and Jerry Wear, a $300 gift voucher from Precia Aesthetic, a sash, a crown, gift bags, and flowers. The two runners-up also received gift cards.

*Sen. Mark Warner and Thera Clark, president of the Thai American Association of Washington DC (center), with the beauty contestants.*

Several dozen food vendors offered such specialties as grilled squid, spring rolls, gai tod (fried chicken), gyoza (dumplings), fried banana, chicken satay, mango and sticky rice, and coconut ice cream with sago, taro, and corn.

This festival was a one-time event; it was not connected to the monthly Asian night markets in the same location hosted by Neon District DMV.

Here are some more scenes from the Songkran Festival: