THE sights, sounds and tastes of the East were celebrated at a one-day festival in Bournemouth.

Crowds queued to get into the Thai Summer Fair at Kings Park in Boscombe with traditional dance on stage and a Thai boxing competition in a ring in the centre of the arena.

The 10th year of the event was officially opened by the Thai ambassador and the Mayor of Bournemouth as visitors enjoyed Thai massage and could even receive a Thai blessing from Buddhist monks.

The festival was organised to showcase Thai culture and raise funds for Bournemouth Thai language and Culture School based in Springbourne.

And headteacher Piyanan Tepnarin said the festival showed how well Thai culture had become a part of Bournemouth.

She said: “It is very important to present the Thai culture to the world so that people know more about Thailand.

“And I’m very pleased with the festival.”

Pasan Teparak, ambassador from the Royal Thai Embassy, thanked Bournemouth for the way it has welcomed people from his country.

He said: “I’m so pleased that Thailand is a favourite place for British people to travel to and that there are a lot of Thai people coming to Bournemouth.

“It shows Bournemouth is a friendly place to come to and that Thai people blend in here.”

Simon Collins, aged 28, from Kings Park, was with his daughter Ella-Louise as she had her face painted.

He said: “We’ve not been before so we came over to see what it was like and did not realise it was going to be so big.

“I work in Charminster and Bournemouth does have such a diverse culture.”