BAC NINH – A love duet singing festival kicks off today in the northern province of Bac Ninh.
The two-day festival will gather dozens of amateur and professional love duet (quan ho) singers at communes of Noi Due, Lien Bao and Lim Town.
The singing would be in a-cappella style (without musical instruments) which was the local style of love duets, People's Committee deputy chairman Nguyen Huu Manh said.
The entertainment would take place in six tents scattered throughout the area and on boats, temples and the homes of 10 local love duet artists.
Folk games such as traditional swinging, wrestling, hide and seek and card games also will be organised.
The festival activities and venues had been widely publicised in a leaflet campaign, Manh said.
The art of love duets was inscribed in the UNESCO's representative list of intangible cultural heritage in September, 2009.
The art is also performed in other festivals in the province such as the O Village festival (on the lunar 4th and 5th of the first month) in Xuan O Village; the Nhoi Village Festival (lunar 7th of the first month); the Diem Village Festival (lunar 5th to 7th of the first month) in Yen Phong District; the Dinh Bang Village Festival (lunar 12nd to 16th of the second month) in Tu Son District. – VNS
