Festival to see selection of national flower

HA NOI – A Spring Flower and Drinks Fair which has opened in Ha Noi will see some last-minute politicking for the selection of Viet Nam's national flower.

The fair will also feature a photo exhibition by HCM City-based photographer Tran Bich dedicated to the lotus, a leading candidate for designation as the national flower.

Bich is dedicated to photographing the lotus, and his images capture many shapes of the lotus, from bud to faded flower.

Orchids, peach and apricot blossoms are also in contention for the title of national flower, however.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will gather votes on the national flower, national costume and national wine during the festival, and the national flower will be announced on Friday at the Viet Nam Lotus Spirit Gala.

At the Lotus Spirit Gala, artisans from Ha Noi, Hue and HCM City will create crafts and artworks celebrating the lotus, including lotus lanterns and sculpture and silk lotus.

"We have used many materials to celebrate the lotus," said Ha Noi-based artist Nguyen Manh Hung. "Since it's not the season of the lotus in the north now, we have received fresh lotus from the southern province of Dong Thap."

The competition to select the national costume hasn't gone as smoothly.

"The ao dai is already the national costume for women, but it's difficult to choose the national costume for men," said Vi Kien Thanh, chief of the ministry's art, photography and exhibitions department.

Meanwhile, the selection of a national wine plan is still in the survey stage, Thanh said. Over the past three years, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Viet Nam Alcohol, Beer and Beverage Association have nominated ruou can (wine drunk from a jar), rice wine, coconut wine and apricot wine for the honour.

The Spring Flowers and Drinks Festival will continue through Sunday at the Culture and Art Centre at 2 Hoa Lu Street.

The fair will exhibit and offer prizes for wines and spirits made by both traditional and modern methods, offer opportunities to sample wines, tea and coffee, and will feature performances, folk games, an ao dai (traditional long dress) fashion show, and calligraphy exhibition, as well as recreate customs such as the Kitchen God Festival. At least 50 enterprises will also display products for Tet, including decorations and ornamental trees.

Ha Giang Province will take the spotlight, recreating a provincial market day with local specialities, cuisine and festivities of the province's ethnic people, including pan-pipe dance and folk duets. – VNS

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Tet gala cheers up stranded city workers

Spring is in the air: Singer Cam Ly and her dancers perform at the Mai Vang (Golden Ochna) Gala, a music event for migrant workers organised by the HCM City Labour Federation and its partners. — File Photo

HCM CITY — More than 25,000 migrant workers at HCM City's Pou Yuen Company and Tan Tao Industrial Park attended a special performance on Monday featuring "a happy taste of Tet".

The event, called Mai Vang (Golden Ochna) Gala Welcomes Tet, is part of the HCM City Labour Federation's charity and cultural activities for the holiday.

Dozens of local and foreign organisations and sponsors are involved in the federation's community work.

More than 50 singers, dancers and actors participated in the gala, including the year's winners of the Mai Vang Award, an annual event that honours local performers in different fields of entertainment.

Famous dancer Linh Nga and young members of the dance group Little Stars opened the show by performing Tinh Dat Phuong Nam (The Love of the Southern Land), a traditional dance choreographed by Vuong Linh and Dang Hung.

Pop stars Dam Vinh Hung, Ha Anh Tuan, Thanh Thao and Cam Ly highlighted the show when they performed popular songs, including Buoc Chan Mua Xuan (Spring Steps), Xuan Da Ve (Spring is Coming) and Xuan Que Huong (Homeland Spring).

For their first time before larger audiences, young singers Noo Phuoc Thinh, Cao Thai Son and Dong Nghi left a strong impression by singing and dancing Xuan Ben Em (Spring and You), Hoa Co Mua Xuan (Spring Flowers) and Ngot Ngao (Sweet).

Singer and movie star Ly Hung, 2010 Golden Ochna winner in film, performed a series of folk songs together with martial arts.

For many young workers, this was the first time they had seen these icons on stage.

Doan Van Nghi, who moved from his hometown in Kien Giang Province's Rach Gia City, said: "Hearing traditional tunes on the radio through the voices of skilled artists like Cam Ly keeps my soul at peace."

"Through the gala, my co-workers, who have no chance to return home for Tet, will feel a happy spring because of these entertainment activities," said Nghi, who added he believed music and theatre can improve the intellect and lighten the heart.

Both Nghi and his younger sister decided to stay in their rental rooms on a tiny alley in Binh Tan District this Tet because "we wanted to save more money to support our big family in Rach Gia."

Cu Phat Nghiep, chairman of the Pou Yuen Company's labour union, said his staff spent a month working hard with the organisers and artists to bring migrant workers closer during Tet.

Nguyen Huy Can, chairman of the Labour Federation, said the music programme's organisers hoped to encourage people to pay more attention to the lives of poor, migrant labourers.

"We are here to share our love and support," he added.

The artists will perform in other industrial parks in HCM City as well as in neighbouring provinces during the Tet holiday. — VNS

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Exhibition focuses on ever-changing Indochina

Everyday people: An image by Sebastien Laval displayed in the exhibition Communities Through Time.

HA NOI — A photo exhibition by French photographer Sebastien Laval, entitled Communities Through Time, has opened at L'Espace, the French cultural centre in Ha Noi.

The black-and-white photos portray the life and culture of people in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue, as well as Cambodia's Angkor Wat and Luang Prabang in Laos. Laval's treatment of floating houses, flickering cooking fires, the innocent smiles of kids, the austere expression on the face of an ethnic man, or a tobacco pipe between a woman's lips, captures the enigma that endures in this region.

The photos include portraits and depict both traditional customs and changes in people's lives. Images in opposition, such as traditional clothes and satellite dishes, old roofs and asphalt roads, reflect the changes in the lives of the ethnic people. The images have no titles, allowing the viewer to freely think, feel and discover the characters, to "try to meet them, talk to them, look at them and understand them," Laval said.

"The way I take photos is not to tell people that I am taking photos," Laval said. "I make no arrangement for the images."

One morning, Laval said he came to a Lao village and met a young girl carrying her brother in front of her house. By the afternoon, she had become acquainted with Laval, who was able to capture a photo of her sitting on sand with a radiant smile.

"If I hadn't come closer to her, I wouldn't have had that smile," he said. "I realised that people still speak and have a mutual understanding even if they don't use the same language."

Born in 1973, Laval discovered photography when he was given a camera by his father. He moved to Paris to work as an assistant for a photo studio in 1992 and subsequently began working as a professional in Poitiers.

Laval visited Viet Nam for the first time in 1995 and has accumulated thousands of images of people in about 20 Vietnamese ethnic groups, which he intends to publish in a book.

The current exhibition runs through February 11 at L'Espace, 24 Trang Tien Street, in Ha Noi. — VNS

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Tourism year sets sights on south central region

Picturesque: Da Nang is one among leading coastal destinations in Southeast Asia. — VNA/VNS Photo Huy Hung

HA NOI — The 2011 national tourism year will focus on promoting tourism in the south central coast region, it was announced at a press conference held in Ha Noi yesterday.

This year's events will for the first time be hosted by not one, but eight central and southern coastal provinces and cities including Da Nang, Quang Ngai, Quang Nam, Binh Dinh, Khanh Hoa, Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan and Phu Yen.

Phu Yen, celebrating its 400th anniversary this year, will host a range of events including the Da Bia mountain climbing competition (March); a Viet Nam-South Korea cultural exchange and the Viet Nam Sea and Islands tourism month (April); ASEAN folk music festival (June) and the 17th Viet Nam Film Festival (November).

Many other activities have been lined to take place throughout the year in co-hosting provinces and cities including the International Firework Exhibition in Da Nang, the fifth Nha Trang sea festival.

"The tourism year will be professionally organised. It is expected to help take full advantage of the coastal provinces and cities as well as promoting the heritage of the Cham people and provide a new image for Vietnamese tourism," said Huynh Vinh Ai, deputy minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Phu Yen will host the opening ceremony on April 1st. — VNS

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Spring festival set to brighten capital

Bouquet: A farmer tends flowers in Tay Tuu Village on the outskirts of Ha Noi. Flowers from the village and neighbouring areas will soon appear at a spring festival in the capital city. — VNA/VNS Photo Huy Hung

HA NOI — A bursting spring atmosphere will be brought to downtown Ha Noi by a festival gathering typical products such as bonsai trees from handicraft villages on the outskirts of the city between January 27 and February 1.

The festival, which will be held on Tran Nhan Tong Street and nearby areas in Thong Nhat Park, will feature not only bonsai trees, but flowers from the villages of Nhat Tan, Tay Tuu and Me Linh along with artificial flowers made of paper, bronze and other metals and wood by artisans living in the city.

Various traditional festive food such as gio (boiled minced pork paste), nem chua (fermented pork paste) from Uoc Le Village and jams from Xuan Dinh Village will also be available at the festival, along with worshipping wares from Ha Noi's Son Dong Village, and furniture from Bac Ninh Province's Dong Ky Village.

Traditional folk performances will also take place including quan ho (love duets), cheo (traditional opera) and ca tru (ceremonial singing), as well as folk games and traditional handicraft competitions. — VNS

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Spring festival to stir up capital

HA NOI - A bursting spring atmosphere will be bought to downtown Ha Noi by a festival gathering typical products such as bonsai trees from handicraft villages on the outskirts of the city between January 27 and February 1.

The festival, which will be held on Tran Nhan Tong Street and nearby areas in Thong Nhat Park, will feature not only bonsai trees, but flowers from the villages of Nhat Tan, Tay Tuu, Me Linh along with artificial flowers made of paper, metal, bronze and wood by artisans living in the city.

Various traditional festive food such as gio cha (boiled minced pork paste), nem chua (fermented pork paste) from Uoc Le Village and jams from Xuan Dinh Village will also be available at the festival, along with worshipping wares from Ha Noi's Son Dong Village, and furniture from the northern province of Bac Ninh's Dong Ky Village.

Traditional folk performances will also take place including quan ho (love duets), cheo (traditional opera) and ca tru (ceremonial singing), as well as folk games and traditional handicraft competitions. - VNS

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Photos a unique documentary of Giong festival

Traditional celebration: This photo of a flag dance on Gia Ngu Hill at a Giong Festival held in Phu Dong Village in 1970 was the first image of the festival taken by photographer Van Tho.

HA NOI — A unique exhibition displaying veteran photographer Van Tho's collection of 100 photos of the Giong Festival has opened at the Phu Dong Temple, in Gia Lam District on the outskirts of Ha Noi.

The photos document the dances and worshipping ceremonies as well as the domestic and foreign officials that attend the festival and even the festival preparations.

All of the photos are in colour except for the artist's first image taken in 1970.

"I cannot count the number of photographs I've taken of the annual festival," Tho said since 1970, "I have selected the 100 best as my gift to celebrate the recognition of the festival as an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO."

The artist was born in 1943 in Phu Dong Village himself. At the age of seven, he played a soldier in Saint Giong's 90-soldier team in the festival. He recalled falling into the pond in front of the temple and racing home to dry his clothes so that he could finish his role in the event.

"Taking part in the festival is a great honour," he said, "That's why the villagers have happily made contributions."

After the exhibition, Tho plans to build a house in which to store his works and memories of the festival.

"If the project is approved [by local authorities], I will select quintessential photos of the festival by many photographers for display," Tho said.

"The exhibits may also include small models of objects used at the festival so that visitors to the temple can learn how the festival is organised, what it symbolises and what activities take place. They can also practise the traditional dances if they want."

A ceremony was held at the temple on Saturday by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ha Noi Municipal People's Committee and the Viet Nam National Commission for UNESCO to bestow the UNESCO Certification recognising the Saint Giong Festival as a world intangible heritage.

The festival was the third element of Ha Noi's heritage recognised by UNESCO in last year, joining the 82 doctoral stone steles in the Temple of Literature and relics of the Thang Long Royal Citadel.

The festival is dedicated to Saint Giong, born in Phu Dong Village in the reign of King Hung VI. According to legend, he was a man of great strength who fought the northern invaders. After his victory, he flew back to heaven on his iron horse over Soc Mountain, which locates in today's Soc Son District.

There are many festivals held in the northern region to honour Saint Giong. The most popular are the ones in Phu Dong Village in Gia Lam District and Soc Village in Soc Son District.

The event in Phu Dong is annually held on the ninth day of the fourth lunar month and in Soc Son, on the sixth day of the first lunar month. — VNS

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