Hoi An to host first Global Choir Festival 

The first International Choir Festival & Competition will be held in the ancient town of Hoi An in the central province of Quang Nam from March 16-20. 

More than 1,000 national and international singers from over 30 choirs will perform and compete in the festival.

The event is part of the 2011 National Tourism Year program in the central coastal region of Phu Yen province.

It is also seen as an opportunity to promote the cultural heritage of the region and to tap the tourism potential for international travelers.

The festival is being organized jointly by Quang Nam province and the German-based Association InterKultur.

The opening ceremony of the festival will take place on a floating stage at the Song Hoai (Hoai River) Square in Hoi An Town.

Traditional handicrafts threatened by oblivion 

Traditional handicraft products sold during Tet holidays such as fruit jams, flowers and ceremonial bronze incense burners have not yet gained popularity with people in Ho Chi Minh City. 

The village of Thong Tay Hoi in Go Vap District which is famous for bronze casting of incense burners is usually busy at this time of year. However, the village is gradually witnessing a disappearance of this hundred year old craft. Most artisans have closed their workshops and moved on to other careers.

More than a decade ago Go Vap village was reputed for its seasonal flowers. Nowadays, most of the local people have switched to growing the more profitable ornamental flowers and bonsai trees. Besides, bonsai do not require much land to grow and farmers earn a substantial income from an area of only 100 sqm. Go Vap village currently provides a large variety of bonsai throughout the country even though bonsai trees only sell to those who can afford their high price.

Duong Sat (Railway) housing estate on Ly Thai To Street in District 3 which was once a jam manufacturing village is also facing hard times. Once a cottage industry it now has hundreds of its households switching to other businesses compelled by  increasing  raw material prices and lack of funds to modernize their units.

Old traditional handicrafts have lost their appeal in the new urban society of high-rise buildings. The question remains, should local authorities make efforts in restoring and preserving craft villages for future generations in Vietnam?

Musical performance honors overseas Vietnamese 

An event entitled ‘Spring Rendezvous 2011’ which is live musical performance and exchange with overseas Vietnamese individuals who have contributed to the country will be held at the Ho Chi Minh City Labor Cultural Palace on January 15.  

Audiences will have a chance to enjoy performances involving dancing and singing, as well as an exchange with Vietnamese Singaporean PhD Tran Duc Vi, deputy headmaster of the Eastern international University; Vietnamese American Nguyen Van Cuong, Director of Viet-Pacific Company; and Vietnamese Canadian Din him Nguyet, chairperson of the Whitehorse City traditional culture preservation organization.

The event is jointly organized by the FOSCO (Services Company to Foreign Missions), Ho Chi Minh City Television and Ho Chi Minh City Labor Cultural Palace.

In addition, a special concert celebrating the 11th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam and the 81st anniversary of the establishment of the Vietnamese Communist Party (February 3, 1930) will take place at the Hoa Binh Theater on the same day.

The music show will be broadcast live on HCM City Television’s HTV9 channel.

Vietnam’s music award 2010

Vietnam’s music awards 2010 will be presented to winners in three categories, including vocal music, instrumental music and music research, announced the Vietnam Musicians’ Association.

Among the prizes, there is one Special prize for a book collection entitled “1,000 years of Thang Long-Hanoi” by a group of authors.

It includes five volumes: court music, Ca Tru (ceremonial singing), traditional music, modern music, and music research. All of them tell stories of 1,000-year-old of Thang Long-Hanoi through different styles of music.

This is a valuable asset of traditional music and court music in the Ly, Tran, Le and Nguyen dynasties, highlighting the capital’s cultural values.

The awards ceremony will be held on January 11 at VOV theatre, 58 Quan Su Street, Hanoi.

Vietnam folk painting exhibition opens in Laos

A folk painting exhibition of Vietnam opened in the Lao Capital of Vientiane on January 10 to mark the 81st anniversary of the Communist Party of Vietnam’s foundation (Feb. 3, 1930 - Feb. 3, 2011), the 11th National Party Congress and the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday.

The 3-day event was co-organised by the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum and the Vietnamese Culture Centre in Laos.

Present at the opening ceremony were the Lao Minister of Information and Culture Mounkeo Oraboune, the Lao Minister of Health Ponmek Dalaloy; the Charge d’affaires of the Vietnamese Embassy to Laos Luong Quoc Huy and other officials from the two nations.

On display are typical folk paintings of Vietnam such as the Dong Ho style (Bac Ninh province), the Hang Trong (Hanoi), the Kim Hoang (Ha Tay province), the Lang Sinh (Hue) and the 19th century’s ancient worship paintings of Nghe An province.

Through its profound contents, the exhibition helps spectators to further understand the quintessential colours and meanings of the Vietnamese folk painting genre, which are made of traditional materials with an original artistry.

The exhibition, which also aims to further strengthen friendly relations between Vietnam and Laos, will be on display until March 10.

Book exhibition in celebration of National Party Congress

The Ho Chi Minh City Book Distribution Joint Stock Company (Fahasa) in coordination with the Youth, Culture and Literature Publishing Houses has opened a book exhibition at 40 Nguyen Hue street, District 1, HCM City.

On display from January 10-16 are 10,000 books with 1,500 titles on the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV).

Besides, the organising board has presented nearly 1,000 books to soldiers working in border areas and on off-shore islands.

The exhibition is one of cultural activities to celebrate the 11th National Party Congress.

Musicians to stage concert in Hanoi

French, Spanish, and Vietnamese musicians will perform at “The Windy Days and Land of Asylum” concert at the French cultural center L’Espace in Hanoi on January 15.

The artists will play a subtle fusion of jazz, Eastern and Mediterranean rhythms and traditional Vietnamese music through song, words and improvisation.

Among the performers are saxophonist and director Pierre Diaz, singer Huong Thanh, violinist and alto Marion Diaques, violinist and singer Delphine Chomel, cellist Claire Menguy, percussionist Alex Tran, and dan nhi (two-chord fiddle) players Nguyen Thu Thuy and Nguyen The Dan.

Tickets costing VND50,000 for students and L’Espace members, and VND100,000 for others, are available at L’Espace, 24 Trang Tien Street, Hanoi.

Hanoi to host first-ever dance sport fest

More than 10 dance sport duos will perform in the first-ever “Vietnam dance sport stars festival”, to be held at the Trinh Hoai Duc Gymnasium in Hanoi on January 14.

The fest is expected to attract many famous local duos like Hong Viet - Thu Trang, Minh Duc - Van Diem, Hoang Hai - Khanh Chi of Hanoi and Chau Giang - Quynh Quyen of Ho Chi Minh City, who bagged a gold medal in the National Dance Sport Championship in 2009.

Top duos Chi Anh - Nha Khanh and Minh Truong - Khanh Thi will also appear, both coming from Hanoi.

They have recently attracted media attention after winning several national and international prizes.

Tickets to the show range from VND50,000 (US$2.5) to VND100,000.

Electronic inspiration at L’Espace

Following the success of its first performance in Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh City last June, French electronic hip-hop group Tha Trickaz is back again for another gig in Hanoi on January 18.

Nicknamed “Tha Vietnamists” – a reference to the Vietnamese origin of its members -- the group was founded 10 years ago by close friends Pho and Thu (DJ iRaize).

It plays a combination of 90s hip-hop and electro music such as dubstep and drum and bass.

They have released four albums so far and in 2009 won the Discovery Award at the Bourges Spring Festival in France and famous French DJ Wax Taylor’s remix contest.

Tickets costing VND50,000 for two are available at the French Cultural Exchange Center L’Espace, 24 Trang Tien, Hanoi.

Ho Chi Minh City to host beer festival

The first Vietnam Beer Festival will be held at the Military Zone 7 Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City from January 21.

Organized by Mekong Star JSC, it will feature a free flow of Coors Light, Budweiser, Saigon, and Hanoi beers, a buffet with Vietnamese and Western foods, DJs, and live bands.

The organizers hope to attract 5,000 people on each of the three days. An attempt will be made on the first night to break the Vietnamese record for the most people toasting at a time.

Each of the three days will have a different theme.

Tu hai giai huynh de (The whole world is a brotherhood) on the first day will aim to bring people together.

Nang ly cung nguoi dep (Cheers with the beauties) on the second day will feature female celebrities.

Famous Vietnamese footballers will drop by for a beer on the third day for Vui cung bong da (Have fun with football).

There will be lucky draws offering prizes of Iphone 4, Ipad, and Vespa LX125 scooter.

The fun will last from 4 pm to midnight on the opening day and from 10.30 am to midnight on the other days.

Tickets costing VND330,000 can be booked at http://beerfestivalvn.com/.

PV