Photos courtesy of Bangkok Edge Festival

Bangkok Edge festival will return with educational and entertainment activities, held at three different venues located side-by-side -- Museum Siam, Chakrabongse Villas and Rajini School -- on Jan 20 and 21, 1pm-midnight.

Due to feedback from more than 20,000 Thai and foreign visitors last year, the second edition will focus on the "Explore, Create, Inspire" theme, inviting everyone to come and explore different ideas, create something new and be inspired to make changes in their life through more than 50 activities.

The programme includes talks on 16 topics, half of which will be presented at Rajini School's auditorium, and a dozen workshops and demonstrations. They will be led by local and international speakers from Australia, Canada, Malaysia, Portugal and the UK. The line-up includes Afonso Cruz, Chris Baker, Christina Lamb, Colin Cotterill, Julian Thomson, Lawrence Osborne, Madeleine Racknagel, Marina Mahathir, Michael Freeman, Lorina Mapa and Veeraporn Nitiprapha.

At book launches, the authors will talk about their works, meet their readers and sign copies, while the kids' zone will feature reading sessions, drawing and guided activities.

There will also be film screenings, a variety of shopping options, and more than 50 food stalls serving local and international dishes.

Hugo Chakrabongse.

To help reduce waste-production at the festival, visitors are encouraged to bring their own food containers and utensils, and all participating stalls will be using environmentally friendly and biodegradable packaging.

On both nights, there will be concerts curated by Hugo Chakrabongse, with a line-up of local talents rarely found in one place, such as Chanudom, Hugo, Rasmee Isan Soul, Siplor, Yellow Fang and Yena.

The festival is also a rare opportunity to tour Chakrabongse House, MR Narisa Chakrabongse's private residence -- an Italian-style villa built by her grandfather Prince Chakrabongse in 1908. There will be four rounds of a 30-minute guided tour per day (one conducted in English and three in Thai), starting at 1pm. The fees are 300 and 500 baht, and places are numbered.

Museum Siam is on Sanam Chai Road, while Rajini School is located next to Chakrabongse Villas on Maha Rat Road.