Fest to celebrate cultural heritage

Carved in stone: Stone steles at Ha Noi's Temple of Literature, which have been recognised as world heritage. — File Photo

HA NOI — A five-day festival will open at the Viet Nam Culture and Art Exhibition Centre this Saturday to mark the sixth Viet Nam Cultural Heritage Day.

Dubbed Hallmark of Thang Long – Ha Noi and the Youth with Vietnamese Cultural Heritage, the festival celebrates the country's rich past and young people's contribution towards preserving the nation's cultural traditions.

An earlier festival to celebrate the 1,000th anniversary of the founding of the Thang Long Royal Citadel – which was recently recognised as a World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO – was a resounding success, organisers said.

On display during the festival will be artefacts belonging to the Thang Long Citadel that were discovered during the excavation of the fortress in 2002.

In addition, about 500 antiques dating from the Dong Son Culture (700-100 BC) to the Nguyen dynasty (19th-20th century) will be on show.

There will be also paintings and photos of Ha Noi, as well as publications and valuable documents kept at the National Library.

The festival has been co-organised by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism; the People's Committee of Ha Noi; the Ministry of Education and Training; and the Association of Viet Nam Cultural Heritage.

Among the activities that will take place during the festival will be a calligraphy demonstration, a display of traditional culture and arts, folk games, music and dances.

Researchers will also hold a workshop on the day to discuss the preservation of Ha Noi's tangible and intangible heritage, such as ca tru (ceremonial singing) and Thang Long folk dance.

A performance in honour of Viet Nam's cultural heritage will be broadcast live on Viet Nam Television from the Au Co Theatre.

The festival will run until next Wednesday. — VNS

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European Music Festival returns

Members of the Tharichens Tentett jazz band from Germany

The European Music Festival returns to HCMC and Hanoi from November 26 to December 4 to celebrate 20 years of diplomatic relations between the EU and Vietnam.

The music festival will make its come-back with a remarkably diverse line-up of concerts with the pop night by El Guincho from Spain and a jazz night with the 10 piece German jazz band, Tharichen Tentett.

The festival is organized by the European Commission Delegation to Vietnam and the embassies of 10 European Union member states, including Wallonia-Brussels (Belgium), France, Austria, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands.

The festival will be staging jazz, classical, world music, pop, electronic music, fusion of jazz and flamenco, graceful piano pieces and warm tones of the harp. The jazz night by Tharichens Tentett will be at Hanoi Opera House, 1 Trang Tien Street in Hanoi on November 26 and the pop night by El Guincho will be at the Youth Theater,11 Ngo Thi Nham Street in Hanoi on November 27 and at the HCMC Opera House in November 28.

All performances start at 8 p.m. Tickets are on sale in Hanoi at the Goethe Institute, 56-58 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, tel: 04 3734 2251 and in HCMC at Do Thanh Apartment at 18, Street No.1, HCMC’s District 3.

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A month of German art talks in Vietnam

The Goethe Institute will hold a major series of activities as part of German year in Vietnam with its project ‘Open Academy’.

Activities including workshops, screenings, performances, concerts, actions, lectures and discussions will be held in Hanoi, Hue and HCMC.

Ten artists and musicians from Berlin working in collaboration with Vietnamese artists and musicians will devise works with an emphasis on new media, performance art, conceptual art and design.

The events will bolster the cultural exchange between the two countries. All events are supported by the Goethe Institute Hanoi and the Senat Berlin – Cultural Affairs.

The internationally sought-after performance artist Nezaket Ekici will hold a performance art workshop at Goethe Institute in Hanoi, 56-58 Trang Tien Street from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. from November 16 to 19, at HCMC University of Fine Arts, 5 Phan Dang Luu Street, HCMC’s Binh Thanh District from November 22 to 25 and a present a talk at San Art at 5 p.m. on November 21.

Visual artist, Juliane Heise, will give a workshop of mapping in art at the Hue University of Fine Arts from November 16 to 19 and at HCMC University of Fine Art from November 24 and 25.

Fuasi Khaliq is a performing artist who since the early 90’s worked in Los Angeles with a jazz project called Horace Tapscott´s Pan African People´s Arkestra. Khaliq was an assistant conductor, arranger, composer, and player of saxophone, clarinet and flute. He will hold a workshop on jazz improvisation at HTX/La Cooperative, 46 An Duong Street in Hanoi on November 22-24 and give a jazz concert at 9 p.m. on November 24, a workshop in Hue on November 26-27, concert at 4 p.m. on November 27 and a workshop at Himiko Cake, 324bis Dien Bien Phu Street, HCMC’s District 10 on November 30 and a jazz concert at the café at 9 p.m. on December 3.

Artist Stephan Kurr will give workshop on tourism and travel in HCMC University of Fine Arts from November 15 to 19.

Veronika Radulovic, who has participated in numerous international symposiums and projects, among others in Hungary, Norway, Poland, Japan and the Netherlands and studied Vietnamese lacquer painting techniques and worked as the first German DAAD guest lecturer at the Universities of Fine Arts in Hanoi, Hue and HCMC, will give a workshop called Das Private in Hue from November 17 to 19 and in HCMC from November 19 to December 1.

While Andreas Schmid will give a workshop ‘Dealing with Space’ in HCMC from November 17 to 20. Maria Vedder will screen her video art in HCMC University of Fine Arts at 3 p.m. on November 18, 19 and at San Art at 7 p.m. November 20.

Machael Vorfeld will give a concert at ZERO Station, 91A Dinh Tien Hoang Street, HCMC’s Binh Thanh District on November 19; Danh Vo will take a city tour with students in Hanoi from November 30 to December 4. Veronika Witte will give workshop on videoart and scenic sculptures at University of Fine Arts Hue on November 22 to 25.

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Films kick off Russian culture fest

Flying high: Soviet soldiers wave a victory flag at the Reichstag, Berlin, in 1945. V-Day: Russian soldiers celebrate victory over fascism in Moscow's Red Square on May 9, 1945.

HA NOI — Five Russian films have kicked off to open a Russian Culture Week in Viet Nam in Ha Noi.

The event was jointly organised by Viet Nam's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Russia's Ministry of Culture.

The Russian films include Kandahar, A Battlefield, Russian Emperor, I Am still Fine Mum! and We Are from the Future.

The films will also be held in Da Nang on Thursday and HCM City on Saturday, respectively.

Running in conjunction with the event is a photo exhibition entitled Moscow: the Victory of May, 1945 at 29 Hang Bai Street.

Fifty black and white photos detailing the fight of the citizens and soldiers of Moscow against the Nazi are on display at the exhibition.

Gennady Stephanovik Bezdetko, counsellor of the Russian Embassy in Viet Nam, said: "These photos are messages to modern generations about the pain of their fathers' sacrifices for the nation and reminds them to value their independence today."

He also said that he was deeply impressed by the photo Mother and Son Reunited, Moscow, Summer 1945, because of the reality it portrayed.

The exhibition will run until Sunday.

A two day series of performances by well-known Russian artists, the Russian National Academic Troupe and young talented artists from the University of National Cinema will also wrap up today at the Ha Noi Opera House, Friendship and Culture Palace, Au Co Art Centre, and Viet Nam National Academy of Music.

Similar activities will also be held in Da Nang and HCM City on November 18-20. — VNS

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Museum celebrates bygone era

Seeking the past: Y Thim works hard to find items to exchange. He is sometimes willing to pay up to tens of millions of dong for unique and rare artefacts. Long legacy: Y Thim's house in Cu Ea Buar Hamlet, Buon Ma Thuot City, is known locally as the "Museum of the Central Highlands Legacy". — VNA/VNS Photos Le Nguyen Phu

DAC LAC — On a journey to the Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) province of Dac Lac, visitors can discover a unique house which showcases machinery and artefacts of a bygone era in the surrounding villages.

The house in Cu Ea Buar Hamlet, Buon Ma Thuot city, is privately owned by Centre of Culture and Information official Y Thim and known locally as the "Museum of Central Highlands Legacy".

Y Thim regularly drives his ploughing machine to remote areas to collect old and broken machinery and artefacts for restoration.

The devices, including musical instruments – one example is a flat metal disc (gong) which is hit by a mallet – ornamental jars, Kpan chairs and so on. All have been thrown away by villagers.

"Once I visited a villager's house and saw his family selling a set of damaged gong to a scrap dealer. I offered to buy the instrument for a higher price and then have them restored," says Y Thim.

Y Thim says that he always pondered the fact that the modern generation no longer sees value in such cultural and subsistence artefacts, causing the instruments and machinery to be discarded and forgotten.

"I want to preserve these traditional treasures of the villages," says Y Thim.

Many traditional pieces are still plentiful and easy to find, and generally their owners just hand them over and are glad to get rid of them, Y Thim says. But with rare and unique artefacts, he has to find something to exchange for them or to pay for them, sometimes up to tens of millions of dong.

For instance, Y Thim once heard of someone who owned a set of 10 bronze-mixed-gold gong aged 100 years old. But the owner wanted to exchange them for three male elephants, which the family could not afford. After frequent visits Y Thim got the price down to three buffaloes, which were worth 20 taels (US$ 33,52).

At present, there are nearly 20 sets of gong, 30 ornamental jars and many other unique devices in Y Thim's museum, the results of 20 years collecting.

Y Than Nie K'dam, the patriarch of Ea Bong Village in Cu Ea Buar Hamlet, says the collection maybe worth "tens of elephants and hundred of buffaloes".

"Even the total number of villagers can not compare to his collection," K'dam said.

Y Thim is also a music teacher and teaches children in the village how to use the ethnic devices.

His two sons, Y Nal and Y Na are graduates of the Military of Culture and Arts College, while his youngest child, Y Thu E Ban, is capable of playing eight kinds of musical instruments.

Y Thim, whose family and museum house are considered "living treasures" of the Central Highlands, says: "Preserving traditional devices is necessary so that younger generations will learn about their ancestors and will treasure the cultural legacies of their fathers." — VNS

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Polish up the Vespa for Charity Scooter Run

Actor Johnny Tri Nguyen (3rd, L) and Pat Joynt (R), director of Saigon Scooter Center, pose with underprivileged children at the press conference to announce the SSC Annual Scooter Charity Run - Photo: Le Minh Khue

Some of the city’s most classic scooters will be revving up for the fifth SSC Annual Scooter Charity Run on November 28 to deliver presents and toys to orphans and underprivileged children in Dong Nai Province’s Dieu Phap Pagoda and Orphanage.

The organizer, Pat Joynt, director of Saigon Scooter Center, said, the charity run was held every year to share love with unlucky children and build community spirit.

“Last time we had more than 200 people participating in the 40km ride and we raised over US$5,000 worth of gifts and toys for the orphans in HCMC’s Can Gio District,” Joynt said.

Advance-purchase tickets are VND300,000 and VND350,000 on the day. Interested riders should come to Sesame Training School at 53 Xo Viet Nghe Tinh Street at 8 a.m. on November 28 for registration. The ticket includes buffet breakfast and goodie bag including T-shirt, banner, sticker and lunch time free entry into Vuon Xoai Resort in Dong Nai and entertainment and lucky draws in the evening. Following the ride, a party will be organized for participants at Quan Xua Restaurant in Thanh Da Island where the lucky draw and other charity activities will take place.

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Vo Manh Quoc wins accounting contest

CPA contest winner,Vo Manh Quoc (R), answers questions in the final round at University of Economics on Saturday - Photo: My Tran

Vo Manh Quoc defeated five other contestants to win the final round of the CPA (Certified Public Accountant) contest organized by the Accounts and Auditing Club of HCMC University of Economics in District 3 on Saturday evening.

Quoc pocketed VND10 million in cash and will be receive three extra marks in his final exam.

Vo Chau Khanh Hoang came second, taking home VND7 million in cash and two extra marks in his finals while Hoang Thi Thu Thuy pocketed the third prize worth VND5 million in cash, plus one mark in his final exam. KPMG Audit Company offered the three winners work-experience at the company.

The annual contest, sponsored by CPA Australia, KPMG, and Hoithao.vn aimed to give students a chance to demonstrate their skills to potential employers and improve student’s soft skills.

The contest,which was in its ninth year, had 3,500 entrants majoring in accounting and auditing from universities in HCMC.

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