Vietnam Travel Information

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Thay Thim Festival kicks off on Saturday

The Thay Thim cultural-tourism festival 2012 will be held at Thay Thim Palace from Saturday until Tuesday in La Gi Town, Binh Thuan Province.

Chau Thanh Long, vice chairman of La Gi Town, said: “The festival is not only a cultural event but also a historical activity to pay tribute to ancestors. This year, the festival has new features from the rituals to the activities.”

The rituals include offering ceremonies to goddesses, ancestors and whales as well as ceremonies to pray for a good harvest, good health and happiness for residents.

The festival days were filled with traditional artistic performances such as dragon dances, drum roll and sports activities including hill trekking, human chess and tug-of-war.

For the first time the festival will feature a legend about Thay Thim by cai luong (Southern opera) drama performed by popular artists from HCMC.

The organizers also introduced a book about Thay Thim Palace by Le Cong Si which aims to mark the 15th anniversary of the palace being recognized as a national historical-cultural relic. They expect to attract over 200,000 visitors.

(Source: SGT)

Project on cultural day of Vietnamese ethnic groups 2013 approved

Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has approved a project on organizing the cultural day of Vietnamese ethnic groups 2013 in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai from April 19th to 21st, with the participation of all 54 ethnic minority groups nationwide.

The opening ceremony will take place at 8 pm on April 19th 2013 and the closing ceremony will also be on 8 pm, on April 21st 2013.

Diverse activities will be held, such as a seminar on the great solidarity among ethnic minority groups to make the strength of Vietnam in 67 years of implementing Uncle Ho’s letter to the Congress of southern ethnic groups; mass art performance; show of traditional clothes; exhibition on ethnic cultures; and performances of Vietnamese intangible cultural heritages recognized by UNESCO.

The event aims to strengthen the great solidarity among ethnic minority groups and localities nationwide; preserve and promote cultural identities and fine traditions of ethnic minority groups; promote tourism and socio-economic and cultural development; improve people’s awareness of preserving and glorifying the advanced Vietnamese culture imbued with national identities; and introduce people nationwide as well as international friends to images of the Vietnamese land and people and fine cultural traditions.

(Source: CPV)

Bay Nui ox race excites spectators

Nearly 30,000 people from the Mekong River Delta flocked to Ta Miet pagoda in Tri Ton district, An Giang province on October 14 to enjoy the annual Bay Nui cow race during the Khmer Sene Dolta Festival 2012.

This year’s oxen event, the 21st of its kind, attracted 64 pairs of oxen from Tri Ton, Tinh Bien, Chau Thanh, Chau Phu and Thoai Son districts (An Giang province), Hon Dat and Kien Luong districts (Kien Giang province) and Kirivong district (Takeo province, Cambodia).

The Number 13 pair owned by Tran Van Cac from Tinh Bien district, An Giang province won first prize, which included a television and Wave motorbike valued at a total of VND30 million.

Pair Number 44 owned by Nguyen Van Bup from Tri Tien district earned second prize of VND20 million, while pair Number 54, belonging to Chau Kim Sang, also from Tri Tien district, came in third and received VND15 million.

The An Giang provincial People’s Committee, in co-ordination with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, organized a seminar on the Bay Nui ox race on the same day.

At the event, 58 speakers presented 56 articles on the history, development and rules of the Bay Nui ox race.

(Source: VOV)

Cham culture shines at festival

A special sports, culture and tourism festival featuring members of the Cham ethnic group is underway in the central province of Ninh Thuan.

The three-day festival, kicked off on October 14, is taking place at the same time as the group's traditional Kate festival.

Various cultural activities like art shows, traditional costume shows, brocade weaving contests, a culinary fair and sports competitions will be organised in the province.

A conference on preserving and developing Cham ethnic culture in parallel with promoting tourism will be the key activity at the event, which will gather both scientists and cultural workers.

The event is expected to attract Cham people from nine localities including Binh Thuan, Phu Yen, An Giang, Tay Ninh, HCM City and Dong Nai.

The localities will take turns hosting the event, which will be held every three years.

According to statistics from 2008, the Cham group was ranked 14th in population size when compared to all 54 ethnic groups in the country, with 145,000 members.

(Source: VNA)

Sene Dolta festival celebrated in Can Tho

More than 500 Khmer Buddhist monks and their compatriots in the Mekong River Delta gathered at a meeting organised by the Southwest Steering Committee in Can Tho city on October 10 to mark the Sene Dolta Festival 2012.

On behalf of the Party and State, Steering Committee Deputy Head Huynh Minh Doan congratulated all the Khmer people in the southwest region on the occasion.

The Committee also called on Khmer people and monks to uphold their patriotism and solidarity, contribute further to national development, and continue the struggle to disable hostile forces attempting to cause social unrest in the country.

The lives of Khmer people have improved considerably over the past few years. The number of poor Khmer households has decreased by 3-4% annually and nearly 80% of households now have access to electricity and clean water.

So far, more than 105,000 houses have also been built for underprivileged Khmer households in the southwestern region.

Sene Dolta is one of the largest Khmer festivals commemorating and paying tribute to their ancestors and predecessors who established and developed the Khmer community.

On the occasion, the Steering Committee presented Sene Dolta gifts to monks, nuns and Buddhist venerables representing 13 Mekong Delta cities and provinces.

(Source: Nhandan)

Hanoi Capital to organize various activities to mark its Liberation Day

The People’s Committee and the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism will organize various activities, such dragon dancing festival, art performances and a ceremony to award best dances about Hanoi, to mark the 58th anniversary of Liberation Day from October 6th to 8th.

Dragon dancing festival will take place from 2pm to 6pm on October 6th at the square in front of the entrance to My Dinh National Stadium, with the participation of 29 troupes from 29 districts and towns in Hanoi.

Spectators will also have an opportunity to enjoy various interesting performances, such as hiphop and sports dance in the artistic program for peace, “Singing Together”, from 3pm to 6pm on October 7th at My Dinh Stadium.

Besides, best dances about Hanoi will be performed and awarded at awards ceremony on October 8th.

(Source: QDND)

Hue Traditional Craft Festival 2013

(TITC) - To promote the achievement of traditional craft festivals held once every two years in odd years, the 5^th Hue Traditional Craft Festival 2013 with the theme “Craft villages in tourism development” will take place from 27 April to 1 May, 2013 at the center of Hue City.

The event organized by People’s Committee of Hue City in collaboration with Department of Agriculture and Rural Development; Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Tourism Association of Thua Thien Hue Province and related departments will attract the participations of traditional craft villages in Thua Thien Hue and other provinces.

Main activities of the Hue Traditional Craft Festival 2013 include exhibition and introdution of handicrafts as well as shopping service for visitors. Besides, many activities responding the festival will also be organized as craft villages fair, art photo exhibition on craft villages; instruction of making traditional handicrafts; artisans meeting, talk and honor; programs of art performance; installation art…

In early November 2012, Thua Thien Hue Province will hold a press conference to propaganda, promote and call funding resources for the festival.

The 5^th Hue Traditional Craft Festival 2013 is opportunity to introduce traditional craft villages in Hue and also honor Hue cuisine in particular and Vietnamese cuisine in general to domestic and international visitors; contribute to affirming Hue as an special culture-tourism center, festival city of Viet Nam.

Thu Giang

Green rice flake products to be introduced at a festival

Special products made from green rice flakes in Hanoi, such as cake, sweetened porridge and sticky rice, will be introduced at 30 stalls at the Cultural Festival of the green rice village of Me Tri on October 6th in Me Tri commune, Tu Liem district, Hanoi.

During the festival, spectators will have a chance to enjoy special products made from green rice and to take part in traditional games. Besides, talks with green rice makers will help participants learn more about the traditional village.

Reportedly, the number of households making green rice in Me Tri village is on the decline. Therefore, the event, organised by SIFE Team from the National Economics University, will help green rice makers promote their products, as well as create an opportunity for Hanoians to learn more about the green rice making tradition in Me Tri commune.

(Source: QDND

Vietnam Travel Guide

Saturday, December 29, 2012