If you are still looking for New Year’s Eve plans, look no further than this year’s Bon Darl Lean Festival (the party of harvesting, also known as ‘Bon Phum’) in Siem Reap town.

Siem Reap town’s Chreav village, a popular eco-tourism destination, will welcome visitors from around the world as it hosts the festival on Monday for this 12th edition organised by Jaya Catering & Events.

“This is the 12th time that our team will organise the festival. This is also the first time we welcome both local and foreign tourists who wish to celebrate this Khmer tradition,” said Jaya Catering & Events president Chrek Kimpo.

For this year’s event, Kimpo wants to attract Khmer and foreign tourists to join Bon Darl Lean in Chreav village, with activities on offer at the event including traditional Khmer cultural shows, dancing and a party to ring in New Year’s Eve.

“The purpose of the event is to honour this Khmer tradition, especially to raise awareness so young generations know their heritage,” he added.

Bon Phum is a farming tradition which honours the water, land and air which they use to produce crops in order to encourage rice cultivation. It begins at the start of the harvest season, usually in January, and runs until Khmer New Year in mid-April.

According to the legend, Bon Darl Lean began when two brothers disagreed whether to offer their rice crops to a monk for good blessing. They divided their land, with the brother who donated his crops receiving a bountiful harvest on his land from the good karma he received from the monk.

Ever since, farmers have made a tradition of blessing the land, crops and water through an annual celebration at the start of the harvesting season.

For those who are interested in attending this event in Chreav village, contact Jaya Catering & Events via e-mail or telephone at [email protected]/ 089 998 338