Bangkok has found some fairly unusual ways to fill the weekend. A theatre festival is turning performances into interactive playgrounds, exotic pets are heading to school at Seacon Square, and a tiny book fair at BACC is bringing together reads and crafts from across Southeast Asia.
Saturday night gets stranger still with comedy, beatboxing and DJs aboard Bangkok Island, while anyone already thinking about their next trip can hunt through hundreds of travel deals at QSNCC. Here are five things to do in Bangkok from August 21 to 23.
On this page:
| Event | Date | Location | Highlight |
|---|---|---|---|
| BICT Fest 2026 | August 21 to 23 | One Bangkok, Goethe-Institut Thailand & Sodsai Pantoomkomol Centre for Dramatic Arts | An international theatre festival with contemporary circus, dance, puppetry and interactive performances for children and adults. |
| Thai Teaw Thai 79th | August 20 to 23 | Queen Sirikit National Convention Center | A huge travel fair with more than 800 booths offering deals on hotels, resorts, flights, tours, cruises and attractions. |
| Zoo Zoo School Tour | August 20 to 23 | MunMun Srinakarin, Seacon Square Srinakarin | An exotic-pet event with animal talks, health checks, workshops and unusual competitions involving snakes, tortoises, hedgehogs and more. |
| Southeast Asia Mini Book and Craft Fair | August 22 to 23 | SEA Junction, Bangkok Art and Culture Centre | A small regional fair featuring new and second-hand Southeast Asian books alongside handmade crafts, batik bags and traditional puppets. |
| Bladefest | August 22 | Bangkok Island Pier, Rama III | A floating Saturday-night festival mixing comedy, beatboxing, live bands, DJs, games and performances aboard Bangkok Island. |
BICT Fest 2026
Date & Time: August 21 to 23, various times
Location: One Bangkok, Goethe-Institut Thailand and Sodsai Pantoomkomol Centre for Dramatic Arts
Price: Free programmes available; ticketed performances from 150 baht for children and 350 baht for adults
The Bangkok International Children’s Theatre Festival returns for its fifth edition from August 21 to 30, marking ten years since the festival began. This year brings 11 performances by artists from nine countries, with contemporary circus, dance, puppetry, interactive installations and theatre spread across several Bangkok venues.
Despite the name, much of BICT Fest is designed to work for adults as well as younger audiences. At One Bangkok, Une Petite Rêverie uses juggling, music, movement and everyday objects to create a 30-minute contemporary circus performance without spoken language. Tickets cost 150 baht for under-sixteens and 350 baht for adults.
There are also free programmes. The interactive installation TBC is open at One Bangkok Park from 10am to 6pm throughout Friday, Saturday and Sunday without advance reservations, while Frolic, a 25-minute dance performance by Stopgap Dance Company with Thai performers, runs on Saturday and Sunday with free reserved seating.
Thai Teaw Thai 79th
Date & Time: August 20 to 23, 10am to 9pm
Location: Exhibition Halls LG 5–6, Queen Sirikit National Convention Center
Price: Free entry
Thai Teaw Thai is back for its 79th edition, filling two halls at QSNCC with more than 800 booths devoted to travel. Hotels, resorts, airlines, tour operators, spas, car rental companies, cruises and attractions are all represented, with the event focusing on packages for the late rainy season and the cooler months ahead.
This is less about entertainment and more about planning the next escape from Bangkok. The advantage of having so many operators in one place is the chance to compare hotel stays and packages directly rather than bouncing between booking sites, particularly for trips around Thailand later in the year.
There are also two related travel events running alongside it, covering overseas travel and wellness tourism. Entry to Thai Teaw Thai itself is free, and QSNCC connects directly to MRT Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre.
Zoo Zoo School Tour
Date & Time: August 20 to 23, 10am to 9pm
Location: Level 1, MunMun Srinakarin, Seacon Square Srinakarin
Price: Free entry; workshops have additional fees
Ball pythons, lizards, tortoises, hedgehogs and sugar gliders are taking over part of Seacon Square this weekend for Zoo Zoo School Tour. More than 30 exotic-pet sellers and communities are involved, but the event puts as much emphasis on learning about the animals as it does on seeing them.
The programme includes talks from exotic-pet specialists, an animal comedy show, free pet health checks and workshops where visitors can paint pet-themed rocks or make accessories. The workshops cost extra depending on the activity, while the free health checks are limited to 60 cases per day and require registration at the event.
Then there are the competitions. Categories include longest snake, heavyweight hedgehog, tortoise eating, hamster eating and a stop-motion contest for lizards. It is an oddly specific line-up, but that may be exactly why this one is worth seeing.
Southeast Asia Mini Book and Craft Fair
Date & Time: August 22 to 23, 11am to 7pm
Location: SEA Junction, Room 407–408, 4th Floor, Bangkok Art and Culture Centre
Price: Free entry
Tucked into the fourth floor of BACC, SEA Junction’s monthly Mini Book and Craft Fair is considerably smaller than Bangkok’s giant convention-centre book fairs. The focus is entirely on Southeast Asia, with new and second-hand books in Thai, English and Indonesian alongside a smaller collection in languages including French and Italian.
The August edition includes newly restocked books from Thai publishers as well as titles from Silkworm Books, River Books, Singapore’s ISEAS and NUS, and Indonesia’s Yayasan Pustaka Obor. Crafts sit alongside the books, including handmade Thai bags and postcards, Indonesian batik bags, recycled-paper puppets and shadow puppets.
It is easy to browse without making an afternoon of it, particularly for anyone already around Siam or National Stadium. Sales from the books and crafts also help support SEA Junction’s cultural and educational activities.
Bladefest
Date & Time: Saturday, August 22, 6pm to midnight
Location: Bangkok Island Pier, Rama III Road, Soi 64
Price: 400 baht early bird; 500 baht at the door
Bladefest returns for its fourth edition on Saturday night, packing a fairly unpredictable combination of entertainment onto Bangkok Island. Comedy, celebrity impersonations, beatboxing, games, live bands and DJs all appear on the same programme, with the event running from 6pm until midnight.
The music moves around quite a bit too. The line-up includes hip-hop and Afrobeats from Mackyvely, disco and funk from Chipiron, melodic house and progressive techno from Naku, plus live music from The Audience’s Nightmare and guitarist Blade with special guests.
Part of the appeal is simply the venue. Rather than another club or concert hall, the event takes place at Bangkok Island’s Rama III pier and aboard its floating entertainment space. Early-bird tickets are 400 baht, rising to 500 baht at the door.
This weekend may be the first time a longest-snake competition, interactive theatre, Southeast Asian books and a floating comedy festival have all made sense on the same list. Bangkok is keeping things pleasantly unpredictable.
The story 5 things to do in Bangkok this weekend (August 21 to 23) as seen on Thaiger News.
