From 17-27 April 2013, the Royal Thai Embassy in Abu Dhabi organized the Thai Festival 2013 at Sontaya Restaurant, St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort, Abu Dhabi, in order to promote the Thai cuisine, Thai arts & culture and Thai tourism to Emiratis and expatriates residing in the UAE.
           For the second consecutive year, the event was well supported by St. Regis, Etihad Airways and Tourism Authority of Thailand (Dubai Office).  Besides savouring delicious Thai dishes from the Thai chefs, the guests were also entertained with puppetry shows by the famous Joe Louis Puppet Theatre who arrived from Thailand to perform every night during this Festival.  The spectacular shows drew many big rounds of applause from over 1,000 guests who attended the whole Festival, as well as 60 members from the media and travel sector who were invited the opening reception on 17 April.
           In addition, Joe Louis Puppet Theatre performed at the Embassy on 26 April as part of the Embassy’s special event to raise fund for Thais in distress in Abu Dhabi.  Again, the shows hugely impressed the Thai children and their families and significantly helped the Embassy collect about 25,600 baht of donation.