Da Nang Guitar Concert to celebrate New Year

Japanese guitarist Kozo Tate and Australian-Vietnamese Le Hoang Minh will perform, along with local artists, at the Da Nang Guitar Concert at Nguyen Hien Dinh Theatre on December 20.

The year-end event also will see the participation of guitarists from HCM City and Da Nang in a music performance night on New Year's eve.

The performance will include duos, quartets and quintets.

This is the third time that Minh, who won the 50th Tokyo International Guitar Competition, will perform in the central city.

The event is hosted annually for tourists, young people and guitar lovers during the Christmas holidays.

Students publish calendar of endangered primates

Students from Da Nang Teachers' Training College have published a Tet (Lunar New Year) calendar as a part of their efforts to protect endangered primates.

"The calendar features the best photos of the most endangered primates living in the central and Central Highlands region, including gray-shanked douc langurs (pygathrix cinerea); monkey (Macaca leonia, Macaca artoides and Macara mulatta), species of loris (Nycticebus bengalensis and Nycticebus pygmaeus) and gibbons (Nomascus leucogienys leucogienys)," said student team leader Nguyen Sang.

He added that talks about animal conservation have been conducted with the assistance of Frankfurt Zoological Society and centre of biodiversity conservation, as well as Green Viet.

Director of Green Viet, Tran Huu Vy, said the calendar seeks to spread awareness about protecting the most endangered primates found near ethnic groups living in the buffer zone around national parks in the central region.

One thousand double-sided four-page calendars will be sold to raise money as donations for the ethnic Co Tu community living in Hoa Vang district in Da Nang City.

Viet Nam to observe Argentina Culture Week

Viet Nam will host Argentina Culture Week beginning tomorrow, showcasing a range of typical cultural and artistic features to mark the 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

The culture week, which will run from December 14 through December 18, comes in the wake of the Viet Nam Culture Week, which was held in Argentina in September.

As part of the week-long event, the Ha Noi Opera House will host the Argentine Tango and Folklore Concert on Monday night, featuring Seleccion Nacional de Tango and Compadia Nuevo Arte Nativo.

Co-organised by Viet Nam's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Argentine Ministry of Culture, the event will also feature a photo exhibition entitled Eva Peron, Ambassador of Peace on Tuesday at the National Library in Ha Noi. The exhibition will be dedicated to Eva Peron, the late Argentine President's wife (1919-1952).

A presentation of the Vietnamese version of Eva Peron's book, La Razon de mi vida (The reason of my life), and a seminar depicting her life and career will also be held on the same day and at the same venue.

The event will continue on Wednesday with the Argentine Film Week, which will open and close with Aniceto by Leonardo Favio and will be shown at the Ha Noi National Cinema.

Other feature films to be screened later are Revolucion: El cruce de los Andes (Revolution: The Crossing of the Andes) by Leandro Ipia, Vino para robar (To Fool a Thief) by Ariel Winograd and animated film Anima Buenos Aires by Maria Veronica Ramirez.

Argentina's Ambassador to Viet Nam, Claudio R. Gutierrez, expressed hope that the Argentina Culture Week would open new avenues for cultural co-operation between the two countries, and especially help in familiarising each other's people with the countries' typical cultural identities.

Culture has been considered an important pillar that has helped strengthen the solidarity and friendship between the two governments and its peoples. Argentina has continuously contributed with beautiful Latin-style performances in singing and dancing at the biennial Hue Festival since 2004.

In 2012, late President Ho Chi Minh's Statue and Viet Nam Park were opened in the country's capital Buenos Aires, which reflected the Argentine government's respect for Viet Nam's great leader and its desire to promote bilateral relations.

500 works to compete in national TV festival

More than 500 entries will compete for prizes in nine categories at the 33 rd National Television Festival to be held in the northern Quang Ninh province from December 18-21, according to Vietnam Television (VTV).

Prizes will be presented to winners in categories including children's programme, documentary, TV report, science and education, dialogue – talk show, programmes in ethnic minority languages, music and dance, TV series, and theatre.

A number of events, including seminars, a forum to exchange experience in the field of TV broadcasting, an exhibition, and a broadcaster-audience exchange will also be held on the sideline of the festival.

The annual festival offers an opportunity for TV broadcasters to meet, exchange information and improve professional skills in the field.

Tien Thuy temple recognised as national historical site

Tien Thuy temple in Chau Thanh district, Ben Tre province has been recognised as a national historical site by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

A certificate honouring this fact was presented to the locality at a ceremony held this morning.

Speaking at the event, Vice Chairman of the Ben Tre provincial People’s Committee Tran Ngoc Tam said that the recognition for the temple inspires pride among local residents. He also urged the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism to work closely with local administration to implement activities to preserve the temple while attracting tourists to the site.

Tien Thuy temple was built around 1778 in Khanh Hoi Dong hamlet, Tien Thuy district, using natural simple material. It underwent a renovation in 1917, which consolidated the temple’s structure using traditional architectural style on temples in the Southern region.

The temple is selected as the main venue to host the province’s annual Ky Yen festival in the eleventh lunar month, which attracts thousands of visitors coming to pray for favourable conditions, bumper crops, peace and prosperity.

It is the fourth temple in Ben Tre province to be honoured as a national site, together with Binh Hoa temple (Giong Trom district), Phu Le temple (Ba Tri district) and Tan Thach temple (Chau Thanh district).

Organisation and management of festivals see positive changes

Festivals across the country in 2012 were well organised and accommodate the characteristics of each locality, meeting the spiritual needs of the people.

The affirmation was released at the online conference held by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang city on December 12 to review the organisation and management of festivals in 2013 and set directions for 2014.

Participants agreed that festivals were held as prescribed by regulations, which promoted the cultural traditions and civilised lifestyle.

The co-ordination among functional departments, as well as the inspection and ensuring security and order in festivals have advanced compared with previous years.

Addressing the conference, the Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Huỵnh Vinh Ai said that the provincial and municipal departments should actively advise the leaders of provinces and cities to issue guidance documents on the organisation of management of festivals.

The departments should also co-operate with local governments and relevant agencies to build detailed plans on the organistaion of festivals in 2014 and inspect and strictly handle law violations as well as to promote propaganda on maintaining a civilised style in the festivals.

Currently, Vietnam holds around 8000 festivals of varying size, including more than 7000 folk and 544 religious festivals.

Spectacular lighting, music performance wraps up French Year in Vietnam

A spectacular lighting and music performance will wrap up French Year in Vietnam at the Reunification Palace in Ho Chi Minh City on December 13-14.

The 15-minute lighting show will highlight the architecture of the Reunification Palace and the Vietnamese countryside along with music performances. Artists of the Spectaculaires group, Allumeurs d’Images will use graphic innovations of Reunification Palace with musical synchronization to change the facade of the Reunification Palace for two nights.

The art of visual effects in motion pictures will give audiences an opportunity to enjoy the typical scenery of Vietnamese vegetation such as bamboo, rice paddy fields, lotus, etc. reflected on the surface of the Reunification Palace.

French musician/composer Orel and Vietnamese singer Le Cat Trong Ly will perform at the show.

The palace architecture was recognized in 1989 as a national historic relic. It sits on a 12-hectare site in the heart of the City bordered by Nam Ky Khoi Nghia, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, Huyen Tran Cong Chua, and Nguyen Du Streets and surrounded by immense lawns and perennial trees.

It was built for the French governor of Indochina between 1865 and 1869 and designed by French architect Hermitte.

From 1954 to 1975, the Independence Palace, as it was called, was the home of some presidents of the Southern Vietnamese regime and their families.

In 1962 it was damaged by bombs but was reconstructed by 1966. Architect Ngo Viet Thu, the first Vietnamese laureate of the Rome Prize, designed a new palace. It consists of a five-storey building with 100 rooms and halls, each decorated in a different style.

After independence in 1975, its name was changed to Reunification Palace and has since become a historic monument attracting a large number of foreign and local visitors.

Japanese Cultural Festival to welcome New Year 2014

A Japanese Cultural Festival entitled “Ake ome! 2014” will take place in Ha Noi on December 29, 2013 to celebrate New Year’s Eve 2014.

At the festival, visitors will participate in Japanese activities to welcome the New Year such as omikuji (random fortunes written on strips of paper), purchase of Japanese souvenirs such as omamori amulets, Daruma doll, yukata wearing. The festival is expected to feature 40 booths offering Japanese and Vietnamese specialties.

In addition, visitors can participate in many traditional activities from Japan to welcome the New Year such as dressing yakata traditional costume. It is expected to bring new experience to Viet Nam's citizens and know more about Japanese culture.

The event is aimed at promoting friendship and solidarity between Viet Nam and Japan.

Source: VNA/VNS/VOV/Nhandan