The 14-15 August 2010, will be a weekend to remember not just for the eighteen couples that were married at the spectacular Baba wedding festival in Phuket town, but for the many local dignitaries and Phuketians who attended.

The Phuket Pernankans or Babas as they have come to be known in the Thai language, refer to those with Chinese heritage, especially the ones who migrated to Phuket during the height of the tin mining industry in the 19th century.

For Tosaporn Tephabutra, a Phuket representative of the Member of Parliament, the event, which he attended with his wife the Deputy Secretary General to the Prime Minister Anchalee Vanich Tephabutra, held extra special significance.

?I am a Phuket Baba as my mother and grandfather were from China, in fact most here are third generation Babas, but the marriage ceremony is open for everyone.?

Local couple Somkiat Hansukkalw and Supaporn Prankead who work in Phuket as a freelance photographer and schoolteacher respectively decided to get married at the event as to them and especially Khun Supaporn, who had a Chinese grandmother, they were doing their bit to preserve local history.

?I wanted to keep the Thai and traditional Phuket culture alive. My grandmother married
a Thai man about 60 years ago, exactly like I have done today.?

Not all of the couples were Phuket Babas, indeed of the eighteen couples that attended
the two-day event, many were from Taiwan, China and Singapore.

The event began on the 14 August at Hongyok house with a welcome party for the couples.

The day of the wedding on the 15th started at 2am in the morning for the brides, as they had to get up to do their hair!

The couples then went to various spots around Phuket town to pay homage to the Buddhist gods and take part in a procession, before arriving at the Phuket Country Club to take their vows.

Pranee Sakulpipatana, Vice President of Thai Penanakan Association addressed many of the visitors of Chinese heritage with a bow and a wai and said, ?The numbers of Phuket Babas are small like a full stop compared to your country but that does mean we can maintain our traditions and culture more easily.?

For Khun Pranee, Khun Tosaporn and many of the Phuket babas, the event was as much about remembering their history as it was celebrating their present with their future spouse.

Khun Tosaporn thought that for many of the next generation of Phuket baba babies, The
event will become bigger and bigger as it become even more necessary, ?Its important for
the next generation of kids not to forget their heritage, and this is what these events are about ? looking back at our ancestry and remembering our forefather?s traditional way of life and making sure our children in turn learn from their customs.?