🔄 Updated 21 Jun 2026
Bun Bang Fai is an Isan tradition held in the sixth lunar month (around May), part of the regional cycle of twelve monthly merit-making festivals, and several provinces celebrate it. But Yasothon's version is the one that has long been recognised as the official provincial festival, with full processions, contests and a proper rocket launch day. If you like a merit festival that has the art, the fun, and a clear root in local belief all at once, this is one to see with your own eyes at least once.
What is Bun Bang Fai, and why launch rockets?
The core belief is about asking for rain. Isan people believe in a sky deity named "Phaya Thaen" who controls the rain. Before the rice-planting season, people build rockets and fire them skyward, like sending up a signal to remind Phaya Thaen to release the rain so the paddies get their water. In any year the rockets fly high and stay up long, it's taken as an omen that the rains will be good.
Behind it all sits the local folk tale of "Pha Daeng and Nang Ai" and Phaya Khankhak (the Toad King), passed down as the origin of firing rockets to communicate with the heavens. The versions vary in the telling, but the heart of it is the same: humans send rockets up to tell the sky to send the rain down. So this event is a merit festival, a party, and a rain-asking rite all rolled into one.
Want more out of Yasothon? Book tours & activities
Booking online ahead on Klook or GetYourGuide is usually cheaper than the gate and skips the queue. Pick only the experiences you actually want — prices and availability are shown live on each site.
When to go and where it's held
Yasothon's Bun Bang Fai is held in mid-May every year (usually the Saturday–Sunday of the second or third week). In recent years it ran 10–12 May in 2024 and 16–18 May in 2025, and for 2026 it's been announced for 8–10 May. The dates shift each year, so before you go, check the latest schedule again from the Yasothon provincial page or the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).
The main venues are in the town centre, at two spots: the area in front of the Mueang district office / Chaeng Sanit Road by the provincial court for the parade and the display of the beautiful rockets, and Phaya Thaen Park, the launch field used on the final day. They're within walking distance of each other in town.
- Day one (Friday) — antique rockets and ornate decorated rockets go on display along the street, the festival opens in the evening, and there are cheerleading contests, a Bang Fai beauty pageant and a light-and-sound show.
- Day two (Saturday) — the big parade day, with decorated rockets, dance troupes and chanting rocket processions from each neighbourhood and district streaming down the whole street. This is the most photogenic day.
- Day three (Sunday) — the actual launch day at Phaya Thaen Park, where the 100,000- and million-class rockets go up and teams compete to see whose flies highest and stays up longest.
Check before you travel
The festival dates move every year with the lunar calendar and the province's planning, so don't go by last year's dates. Search for "Yasothon Bun Bang Fai schedule" plus the year you're going, from official government pages or TAT, before you book a room.
The decorated rocket parade — the artistic highlight
The word "e" in the Isan dialect means to decorate beautifully, so a bang fai e (decorated rocket) is one built purely for the parade. The body runs several metres long, dressed in tiers of coloured paper patterns stacked on top of one another — floral designs, naga serpents, applied Thai motifs — and some are built as whole figures of animals or scenes from legend. Each neighbourhood and team spends a month making theirs; it's serious craftsmanship.
The procession also has seung bang fai, the playful dancing and chanting that goes on while the parade moves. Some teams dress up big, paint their faces and bodies, and carry symbols from local belief, and the whole stretch is lively. If you love photographing people and the colours of a living culture, the parade day is the one not to miss.
Decorated rockets (bang fai e)
Rockets dressed up with patterns to parade and compete on looks, not built to be fired. They're the stars of Saturday's procession.
Dance and chanting procession
Troupes dancing and trading playful chants, with each neighbourhood going all out on moves and costumes.
Launch day — racing to see whose stays up longest
The final day is the one everyone waits for. The rockets actually built to fire are hoisted onto a tall launch tower at Phaya Thaen Park and lit one at a time, with judges timing which rocket stays airborne the longest. The one that flies high, flies straight and floats the longest wins. By old custom, a team whose rocket fails to launch or blows apart on the tower gets ribbed by being thrown into the mud — a bit of colour the crowd loves.
Rockets are graded by how much gunpowder they hold, known as bang fai muen, bang fai saen and bang fai lan (10,000-, 100,000- and million-class). The bigger the number, the more powder they pack: a 100,000-class rocket uses on the order of a few hundred kilos of powder, and a million-class is bigger still, with a body several metres long weighing hundreds of kilos. When they go up there's sound, smoke and a vibration you can feel from a distance.
- Bang fai muen (10,000-class) — the smallest in the competition, easy to launch and seen most often.
- Bang fai saen (100,000-class) — medium-to-large, packing a few hundred kilos of powder, the star of the launch field.
- Bang fai lan (million-class) — the largest, hard to build and risky; the team whose one stays up longest is the pride of the whole festival.
Watch the launch safely
Launch day comes with loud noise, smoke and the chance of a rocket falling off course. Watch only from the spots the officials have cordoned off, don't get near the launch tower, keep small children behind the barriers, and be ready for the fact that some rockets won't fly the way you'd hoped.
Maha Chana Chai — home of the real rocket makers
Most of the rockets you see at the town festival are the work of makers in the surrounding districts, especially Maha Chana Chai district, which is known for its rocket-building camps and a large number of rocket craftsmen. If you come close to festival time and want to see behind the scenes, dropping by the rocket-making communities around here is another way to appreciate how many hands one rocket passes through before it ever reaches the sky.
And if you're into local food too, Maha Chana Chai is also a known source of pla som (Yasothon's famous fermented fish), so you can pick some up to take home in the same trip.
Getting ready for the rocket festival
- Book your room early — during the festival, rooms in town fill up fast and prices climb, so booking several weeks ahead is the easier route.
- Plan for sun and rain — May is very hot and can bring thunderstorms, so pack a hat, drinking water and an umbrella or rain jacket.
- Lots of walking — the parade day closes several stretches of road, so wear comfortable shoes.
- Cash — most stalls and food carts at the festival take cash, so bring small notes.
- Parking — the town centre gets congested and parking fills up, so parking outside the festival zone and walking in is easier.
On where to stay, Yasothon town has mid-range hotels like the JP Emerald Hotel on Prasopsuk Road, wooden resort-style stays such as Wimanmek, plus small guesthouses around town. Normal rates run from a few hundred to a few thousand baht, but during the rocket festival prices rise and rooms fill quickly. See the full set of options on the Yasothon hotels page.
Plan a full Yasothon trip around the Bun Bang Fai Rocket Festival
See the Yasothon travel guide →