Vietnamese ethnic festival to be held in Hanoi

Vietnam’s Ethnic Minority Cultural Festival will open at the Culture-Tourism Village of Vietnamese Ethnic Groups in Hanoi on April 19.  Participants will review related activities in the past three years and attend a conference on tourism promotion, a mountain market fair and other traditional games, sports and entertainment activities. The highlight of the event will be a Gala night to honour the culture of Vietnam’s ethnic minorities, including the M’nong, Thai, Muong, H’mong Ede, Hoa, Tay, Pa Then, Ro Mam, Chut, Lo Lo and Giay, to promote their mutual understanding and solidarity.

Central Highlands ethnic cultural festival to be held in May

The first culture, sports and tourism festival of ethnic minority groups in the Central Highlands 2012 will take place from May 18th to 20th in Buon Ma Thuot city, the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak. The festival will strengthen solidarity and cultural exchange among ethnic minority groups and localities in the region. It will also introduce Central Highland ethnic minority culture and art in practice, with activities of various ethnic groups, to people nationwide and international friends. This will contribute to promoting solidarity among ethnic minority groups and preserving traditional cultures in the Central Highlands. The festival will draw the participation of an art troupe from each of the five Central Highland provinces. Diverse activities such as mass art performance, ethnic clothing shows, folklore festival, ethnic sport events, gastronomy, and Central Highlands book and culture exhibitions will be held during the festival.

Flower Festival colours Da Lat

The opening ceremony was attended by former President Tran Duc Luong, former Deputy Prime Minister Truong Vinh Trong, and Secretary of the Party Central Committee and National Assembly Vice Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, together with 20 international delegations from embassies and consulates in Vietnam. Addressing the opening ceremony, Vice Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan praised the organisation of the festival as well as the achievements of the Party Committee, authorities and people of Lam Dong province. “The Da Lat Flower Festival sends a message to international friends that Da Lat, Vietnam's city of flowers in Lam Dong province, is an ideal destination”, said the Vice Chairwoman.

Da Lat gears up for bloom boom

The Central Highlands resort city of Da Lat , already famous as the City of Flowers , is now the City of Flower Festivals.  The city will welcome 2012 with millions of colourful flowers as the latest edition of the biennial Flower Festival gets underway on New Year's Eve. The five-day festival will honour those who grow and sell flowers by presenting them to the public in a floral parade and awarding a slew of prizes. The festival will feature 21 cultural activities including flower exhibitions and music and dance performances that more than 1,000 artists will participate in. An estimated 300,000 visitors including foreigners are expected to attend the festival, according to Truong Van Thu, vice chairman of the People's Committee of Lam Dong province. The opening ceremony of the festival, called Da Lat Flowers – the World of Colours on Dec. 31, will have a special display of around 120,000 tulip branches as well as flower species specific to Da Lat.

Hanoi to hold flower street festival

The 2012 Flower Festival will be held in Hanoi from December 30, 2011 to January 2, 2012 to welcome the upcoming lunar New Year (the Year of Dragon). The event is part of activities to celebrate the 82nd founding anniversary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (February 3). The flower festival will take place around the Hoan Kiem (Restored Sword) Lake in the centre of the capital city. In the framework of the festival, there will be a wide range of activities, including a week-long film show, music and dance performances, flower-arranging competitions, fireworks and displays.

“Fansipan: Explore and Conquer” 2011 programme to start in December

The Lao Cai People’s Committee will organise the “Fansipan: Explore and Conquer” 2011 programme in the middle of December as part of a tourist programme named “Back to the origin – 2011”.  The programme is expected to attract the participation of 60-80 professional climbers, together with some domestic and foreign tourists. During two days and one night, the tour will start from Tram Ton, Sapa, on the top of O Quy Ho Hill and finish at the same place. In December, in Sapa, there will be various cultural and sport activities and folk games to serve tourists and a meeting to summarise and assess the cooperative programmes for the development of Northwestern provinces in 2011.

The Khmer festival to take place in December

Twelve art troupes will attend the 5th Southern Khmer Ethnic Minority Cultural Festival from December 1-5. The performances will be staged at the Xuan Bien Industrial Park in Tinh Bien district, An Giang province, announced the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the An Giang provincial People’s Committee at a press briefing on November 22. The festival is organised every three years to celebrate the special cultural identity of the southern Khmer ethnic people.

Cambodia Culture Week opens in HCM City

The opening ceremony of Cambodian Culture Week 2011 was held in Ho Chi Minh Municipal Theatre on November 17 to strengthen the traditional cultural exchange between Vietnam and Cambodia. A 35-member Cambodian art troupe are giving four performances in Vietnam from November 16-23, with two in HCM City and two in Vinh Long province. Cambodian artists will perform traditional dances, namely Apsara, Suoy, Panpipe and Suvanna Machaha, which reflect both legendary stories and the daily life of Cambodian people.