‘Oldest friend in Asia’: Thailand and US celebrate ties over a rodeo bull

 

At the final stop of its Thailand-wide American Fair, the US ambassador says the real celebration is a friendship he calls America's oldest in Asia.

 

If your grandmother turned 100, or a big wedding was on the horizon, you would invite all your friends over. That, says the US ambassador to Thailand, is the thinking behind a three-day party in the heart of Bangkok's shopping district.

 

"America is like a family," Sean K. O'Neill told Thai media at the opening of the American Fair at Siam Paragon on Friday (October 23). "Just like any family celebrating a big event like a birthday, we want to invite our friends to join us."

 

The occasion is America's 250th birthday, and the guest list is, in effect, an entire country. The Bangkok fair, which runs until Sunday (October 25), is the fourth and final stop in a series that has already visited Hat Yai, Korat and Chiang Mai.

 

It borrows its spirit from the American state fair, where communities gather for food, music and games. Entry is free.

 

For O'Neill, who has lived in Thailand three times, including three years in Chiang Mai, the fair is personal as well as diplomatic. 

 

"It's very special to me to celebrate the birthday of my country with so many of my Thai friends, where I have lived for so many years," he said.
 

 

 

A ring of rodeo and rock 'n' roll

Wander through Parc Paragon and the scene is unmistakably Americana with a Bangkok accent. A mechanical rodeo bull draws the crowds, and contests on offer include a rooster-crowing competition and an apple-balancing game.

 

Face painters work in one corner, and a photo booth turns visitors into collectible trading cards. Free popcorn and cotton candy are handed out, while a special-edition Statue of Liberty 3D ice cream is on sale.

 

The food, the ambassador suggested, is where the two cultures meet most happily. Visitors can try Washington apples and California cheeses, and some American ingredients are cooked Thai-style. 

 

"American beef, but in a massaman curry or something like that," he said. 
 

 

 

 

Petrolheads are catered for, too, with Ford trucks and a Harley-Davidson on show: "some of the best trucks and the best motorcycles anywhere in the world," as O'Neill put it.

 

History fans are not forgotten. A soldier from the American Revolution is on hand to explain what soldiering was like 250 years ago, when the United States became an independent country. 

 

Elsewhere, a small exhibition aims to introduce visitors to American history and culture, and a "Freedom 250 Explorer Passport" challenge sends them around the booths.

 

Next door at SCBX Next Tech, guests can spell out their names in NASA satellite imagery and hear from business and technology leaders, with Google, Microsoft and Baker & McKenzie among the speakers.
 

 

 

 

The main stage runs a mixed bill, including the Carolina Jazz Ensemble, a swing-dance performance by Jelly Roll Jazz Club, and music from US diplomats.

 

Film screenings feature Grease, Toy Story, Back to the Future, Independence Day and Saving Private Ryan. There is also a workout with US Marines for those who want to test their fitness.

 

Saturday's headline act is Nene Royale, the winner of America's Got Talent. She performs at 7pm. 

 

"She went to the US, competed in America's Got Talent and her dream came true," O'Neill said. "America really is a place where dreams come true. We talk about the American dream. Well, Nene is experiencing the American dream right now."

 

 

 

'Oldest friend in Asia'

Beneath the popcorn and the pageantry runs a more serious message. Asked what Thais across the country had told him they wanted from Washington, the ambassador said the answer was consistent.

 

"People want Thailand and America to continue to be close friends," he said. Thailand, he added, is "America's oldest friend in all of Asia", with diplomatic ties stretching back more than 200 years. 
 

The strength of that bond, he argued, lies not in what passes between governments but in what passes between people. 

 

"The friendship between the American people and Thai people for so many generations is very important," he said, describing a wish to keep "studying together, working together, eating together".

 

That people-to-people emphasis shaped the choice of venues. Hat Yai, in the south, was picked first partly because so many Americans have passed through, and because the embassy has an American Corner at the university there. 

 

The city once had a US consulate, which has been closed for more than 30 years. Asked whether it might reopen, O'Neill said there were no plans to open new consulates in Thailand. Instead, the embassy would keep reaching out to students, business people and citizens nationwide through events such as this one.

 

Booths from the US Department of Agriculture, EducationUSA, the Fulbright programme and American Citizen Services offer more practical information alongside the fun.

 

The fair is open from 11am to 9pm each day until Sunday. For a country marking a quarter of a millennium, it makes for an unusually relaxed birthday: no speeches required, just a bull to ride and, if the ambassador has his way, a few more friends at the table.