HCM City student wins TV host competition

Host with the most: Master of Ceremonies Competition winner Nguyen Thi Huynh Giao (left) and runner-up Huynh Trung Phong at the Hoa Binh Theatre in HCM City. — VNA/VNS Photo Ly Vo Phu Hung

HCM CITY — A student at HCM City Foreign Trade University has won this year's annual Master of Ceremonies (MC) competition after impressing the audience with her argument about Vietnamese women marrying foreign men.

Nguyen Thi Huynh Giao's confidence and intelligence during the debate contest convinced two members of the jury, veteran artists Hoang Dung and Dam Loan.

Through her answers, Giao said she wanted to send a message there were still many women marrying foreigners because of true love, not for wealth.

"It is women's right to marry men with whom they can find joy, happiness and respect," Giao said.

The 22-year-old woman of Ben Tre Province also shared her thoughts about married life, saying that love and children were the most important factors in married life, a statement that evoked support from the audience at Hoa Binh Theatre on Sunday.

The only male candidate in the final, Huynh Trung Phong, a teacher at HCM City Physical Education School, was the runner-up of the competition.

Phong of HCM City was confident about his opinions about the practice of tattooing among young people, his topic in the debate contest.

"Tattooing is an art form. It is people's right to have or make a tattoo," Phong said, pointing out the reasons why more and more young people now wanted a tattoo.

However, he said that those who want them should "think carefully before tattooing something onto your bodies".

Two contestants tied for third place, Ho Pham Thanh Giang of Binh Dinh Province, a graduate of the HCM City Economics University, and Dang Thi Bich Nga of Quang Ngai Province, a graduate of the HCM City National University's Economics Faculty.

Nga also won a prize for the person who had the most emotive voice.

Apart from the debate contest, four finalists had to host a talk show with guests.

The guests, comedian Hoai Linh and singers Doan Trang, Ho Quynh Huong and Dam Vinh Hung, provided laughs and a joyful mood.

The MC Competition has been held annually since 2004 by HCM City Television with the aim of finding new MCs for TV programmes. This year's competition attracted nearly 600 candidates from across the country. — VNS

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Summer ends in re-runs for neglected kids' TV

HCM CITY — Reruns of Kinh Van Hoa (Kaleidoscope) and Xom Cao Cao (Grasshoppers Hamlet) are being broadcast on television because of a shortage of locally made films and TV series for children.

The acclaimed series have been shown many times on HTV Channel 7 and television around the country for years.

"We lack scripts to make new TV series for children," Chu Thien, a well-known director who has made noteworthy films and TV series targeting children.

"I've received some scripts but I've decided not to develop any of them," Thien said.

"Making series for children is not easy. I like scripts featuring childhood's innocence and their ways of solving their own problems," he said.

Thien's recent series Gia Dinh Phep Thuat (A Witchcraft Family) is filled with amusing scenes and circumstances and has received a warm welcome from young audiences.

With a script by Kwon In-chan from South Korea, the 500-episode series is Viet Nam's longest TV series for children.

The series is being screened on HTV7 on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday evenings. Fewer TV series for children are being made each year.

The series have been typically shown during children's summer holidays. At least three new series for children were screened on HTV during summer vacation several years ago.

Last year, children saw the 30-episode Mua He Soi Dong (Interesting Summer Holidays) and the 21-episode Nhung Ngay He Xanh (Green Summer).

Interesting Summer is about six teenagers who become good friends while on a 10-day summer vacation.

The 30-episode Giac Mo Bien (Dreams of Sea) is the only new series being screened on HTV Channel 7 for the summer. It is about the dreams of a group of junior high school students whose parents urge them to attend extra classes during summer vacation.

TV stations also lack game shows and entertainment programmes for children.

"With so few TV programmes to watch, my son buys ghost stories which fill the shelves of bookstores," Mai Hoa, mother of a nine-year-old boy, said.

For many film directors making films and series, focusing on romance and family issues is much easier than making productions that target children aged between six and 14.

Film studios often make films and series in exchange for commercial spots during TV. But companies usually choose to advertise their goods during peak viewing hours and not during children's series. The shortage of child actors is another difficulty faced by film studios.

"Filming must be done during summer holidays when child actors are not busy with their studies at school," said film director Do Phu Hai. — VNS

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Aussie expats gear for footy championship in China

The Vietnam Swans Australian Rules Football team after they defeated the Cambodia Cobras last month in Phnom Penh in the lead up to the Asean Championships in Shanghai in October - Photo: The official website of Vietnam Swans

Australians that live in Vietnam are readying for the Australian Rules Football Grand final that is coming up in September at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

But there is another contest coming up that is equally important to a group of footy fans here – the annual Australian Rules Football Asian Championships that this year are being held in Shanghai.

The China weekend of games that starts October 16 will attract teams of Aussie expats from all over Asia. The Vietnam Swans will be going with players from Hanoi, HCMC and Vung Tau to meet teams from countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, China, Philippines, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, you name it. All of these places have Aussies who are working overseas that are keen to see as much of the region as possible and take part in sports and the social events while they are here.

On Saturday August 28, in the lead-up to the champs, the Saigon Swans played the Hanoi Hawks in Hanoi and got blitzed 15 goals, 6points to 6 goals, 9 points.

“It was a wake-up call in the preparation for the Asian Champs,” said Vietnam Swans President Phil (Fabbo) Johns who is based in Saigon.

He explained that the Saigon chapter of the national team make up 90% of the Vietnam team players who play in international matches like the Asia Championships. “So it was a bit concerning that Saigon got rolled so easy,” he said adding, “Hanoi just came out of the box and blitzed it.”

Mark Williams from the Hanoi team said he was very pleased to back up another win against Saigon after the first annual ANZAC Day game in Vung Tau earlier this year that Hanoi had only won by a single point.

Perhaps at Saturday’s match in Hanoi the Saigon Swans had been disconcerted earlier in the day when there was talk of the game being canceled due to bad weather. It had been raining all week in Hanoi and the playing field at the United Nations International School was flooded. It wasn’t till almost lunch that they heard they could go ahead.

Hanoi’s scoring was strongly bolstered by a twelth grade player who managed to almost score the winning margin on his own – obviously taking full advantage of the age difference between him and most of the Saigon defenders.

Johns said he hoped to get the young fellow to join the team in Shanghai.

The weekend before the match the Swans held a car boot sale to raise money for the trip to the Asian Championships that was sponsored by Vietnam Homewares and Crown relocations.

Also this month the team started holding Aus Kick every Sunday 8-9am at the AIS Sports Center in Thao Dien for any kids who are interested in the sport.

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Photos capture milestone moments

A photo exhibition called “65 years – landmarks in history” opened at the Exhibition Center for Culture and Arts, to mark the 65th anniversary of the August Revolution (August, 19, 1945) and the National Day (September 2, 1945), reports VietnamPlus.

The exhibition features over 200 photos that mark the most important days in Vietnam’s past 65 years. The photos are in three categories.

The first group of photos tells about the foundation of the Communist Party of Vietnam from the establishment of the Viet Minh Revolutionary organization, the national congress convened in Tan Trao on August 13, 1945 and President Ho Chi Minh’s proclamation of the Declaration of Independence at Ba Dinh Square on September 2, 1945.

The second category describes the revolutionary wars for national independence and reunification.

The photos record the great courage and sacrifices of the people during three decades of fighting. Images depicting the General Offensive in 1968, the historical victory on April 30, 1975 and the first Congress of Vietnam’s National Assembly will help young people particularly to understand more about those events.

The third part presents the country’s milestones and achievements during its construction and defense and 25 years of renovation. The rapid growth of the economy, better quality of life, achievements of industrialization and modernization in the peacetime are shown.

The exhibition that opened Saturday at 2 Hoa Lu street in Hanoi runs until September 3.

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Vietnam joins Super Yosakoi festival in Japan

Vietnam's dancing group attended the Super Yosakoi 2010 Festival held in Tokyo Saturday and Sunday

Photo: VNA

A dancing group of Vietnam attended the Super Yosakoi 2010 Festival held in Tokyo Saturday and Sunday.

The Super Yosakoi festival, one of the biggest Yosakoi festivals in Japan, drew 98 dancing teams with almost 6,000 dancers, including foreign groups from Vietnam, the Republic of Korea and Ghana.

Vietnam’s Yosakoi dance team said their participation in the event is expected to contribute to promoting the Vietnam-Japan diplomatic relations and increasing solidarity and mutual understanding between the two peoples, particularly the youths.

“Established in 2008 with initial name of the Hanoi Super Yosakoi, the Yosakoi – 1,000 years of Hanoi” team now can develop dances for its performance.

On this occasion, Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Nguyen Phu Binh met with the Vietnamese dancers and wished they continue their activities to contribute to promoting exchanges of culture and increasing people-to-people friendship.

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HCMC fest offers good reasons to go vegetarian

Rare delicacies like banh xeo (pancake) from the Mekong Delta are available at the festival

Photo: Phuong Thuy

Kim Tuyen was waiting patiently for half an hour in front of the Hoa Hao Buddhism Organization booth at the Ho Chi Minh City vegetarian food festival last Thursday.

The chefs are making coconut milk and sometimes picking up herbs from a big bowl.

She is happy to wait since she rarely gets the chance to taste authentic banh xeo (pancake) from the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap.

The chefs arrived in the city last Thursday and only stayed for the duration of the festival at 23-9 Park in District 1 until Sunday.

“I just finished my work nearby and found this festival by chance. I have tried vegetarian banh xeo before and it tasted really good; so I want to eat again today,” Tuyen says.

As two pancakes appear on her table, she looks delighted. “I am a long-term vegetarian. Only my daughter and I are vegetarian, so we eat separately from other family members. Eating food with a lot of vegetables like this make me feel light and healthy.”

The pancake, made on a non-stick pan without using oil, has a bright yellowish coat. It is filled with green peas, bean sprouts, and slices of carrots and tofu, and served with a variety of fresh vegetables and herbs.

An American from California, who introduces himself as just Jeff, says: “Vietnamese use conservative spices and good sauces, which makes the food very tasty.”

Jeff has tried the banh xeo and also tried pizza, skewers, banh chuoi (banana cake) and plans to eat more on the last day of his trip to Vietnam. “Though I’m not a vegetarian, eating this kinds of food makes me feel good. And knowing that the money I paid will go to charity makes me feel much better.”

Besides Vietnamese cuisines, there are also foreign foods like Thai or Indian, contributing to the festival’s variety and color.

At the Indian booth set up by Ashoka, a chain of city-based restaurants, young manager Sumit Sharma says: “Our restaurant serves north Indian food. There are more than 40 dishes in the menu. We have an Indian chef here so people can see how the food is made.” North Indian food is made predominantly from wheat while rice is the staple in the south.

A vegetarian himself, Sumit says: “In Indian, we prefer to cook vegetarian food at home while Vietnamese tend to go to restaurants.” It is no doubt influenced by the fact that a third of Indians are vegetarians and there is a long tradition of not cooking meat at home.

Sumit’s favorite Vietnamese food is pho chay (vegetarian noodle soup). “For the first 10 days after I came to Vietnam, I only ate bread and butter,” he recalls.

“Then I came to work for this Indian restaurant and now I can eat vegetarian food every day.”

Nearby, tasting naan bread with yellow dal, is young English couple Laura and Mundia. The two have been in the city for two months and will become teachers at an international school in September. Laura says though she’s not a vegetarian, she loves vegetables and often visits vegetarian restaurants back home.

“In England, you can only find a maximum of two vegetables in a dish. There are five or six different kinds of herbs and leaves in a Vietnamese dish, which I like,” Mundia says.

Some people chose to go vegan not only for health reasons but also for good causes. Veronika, a young German doctor working for a city hospital, says: “I’m a vegetarian. I gave up eating meat two years ago as a reaction to the cruel animal slaughter and to show respect to the environment.”

But she finds it hard to be a vegetarian in Vietnam. “When I first came here, I ate fruits to survive. Later, I found some vegetarian restaurants from my travel book. Sometimes I go to eat with friends but there is no vegetarian food and I just eat some salads”.

“I hope this event will help promote the vegetarian habit in the country because there are many good reasons to be a vegetarian”.

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Italian classical musicians to perform in Hanoi

Pianist Gabriele Carcano, whose show in Hanoi in 2008 was a huge success, will be among three Italians performing with Vietnamese artists at three classical concerts at the Hanoi Opera House in September and October

Pianist Gabriele Carcano, whose show in Hanoi in 2008 was a huge success, will be among three Italians performing with Vietnamese artists at three classical concerts at the Hanoi Opera House in September and October.

On September 11 jazz pianist Cesare Picco will present “La prima stella" ("The first star"), "Corale alla fine del giorno" ("Choir at the end of the day"), and a special tribute to J. Bach, "A long wait," composed by himself. Tri Minh will join him to play “Hanoi Improvisation” by Vietnamese composer and musician Vu Nhat Tan.

Tickets to the show cost VND150,000 (US$7.73) to VND500,000.

Renowned flutist Andrea Griminelli’s show on September 20 will feature classic arrangements including Donizetti’s “Sonata in C major” and a fantasy of Bizet’s “Carmen” as well as contemporary pieces from famous movie soundtracks like Cinema Paradiso, the Godfather, and the Mission.

Carcano returns to perform together with the Vietnam National Opera and Ballet Theatre’s orchestra on 15 October. His concert will include pieces by JS Bach, Beethoven, and Liszt.

He is among the most talented and youngest of Italy’s top pianists.

Born in Turin in 1985 he began to study the piano when he was eight and graduated from the Conservatory G. Verdi in Turin aged 17.

He made his Italian debut at Teatro La Fenice in Venice after winning the Alfredo Casella Prize in 2004.

In 2009 he won the Prize of the Fondation des Banques Populaires Françaises-Natexis.

Tickets to both shows cost VND200,000 to VND700,000.

The shows will be organized by the Italian embassy in the capital.

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