Yamaha Christmas Concert to perform in Hanoi

Japanese famous guitarist, Sakaba Keisuke, will perform at Yamaha Christmas Concert, due to take place at the Hanoi Opera House on December 21-22.

The two-day event will be joined by the Vietnam National Symphony and Orchestra (VNSO), a Choir of National University of Art Education, Children Palace Chorus, and a VNSO Children Chorus under the baton of Japanese conductor Honna Tetsuji.

Guitarist Sakaba Keisuke will join Vietnam’s renowned violinist Dao Mai Anh and celloist Tran Thi Mo at the event.

The classic artists will perform masterpieces, including famous works written by Vivakdi, Mozart, Corelli, Handel and Franz Xaver Gruber.

Tickets, priced from VND150,000-VND450,000, are available at the Hanoi Opera House, No1 Trang Tien Street, Hanoi. They can also be booked at the website www.ticketvn.com, or via email ticketvn@gmail.com.

Vietnamese, Chinese youths join friendship exchanges

A delegation of 100 Chinese young people have joined a Vietnam-China friendly music festival in the northeastern province of Quang Ninh.

During its two-day trip to the province on December 18-19, the Chinese delegation will call at Ha Long Bay, a production facility of the Viglacera Ha Long Company and Ha Long night market.

It set off for the capital city of Hanoi on December 20.

Earlier on December 17, young people from Mong Cai city of Quang Ninh province and Dongxing city of China’s Guangxi province also held a singing festival.

Human fate portrayed by Nguyen Lieu’s conical hats

‘Non’ (Conical hat) solo painting exhibition by artist Nguyen Lieu opens on Wednesday at HCMC Fine Arts Museum.

It features 10 pieces made of oil on canvas, depicting conical hats - familiar image of Vietnamese. “My childhood memories are filled with images of my mother’s lullabies, immense rice fields, beaches full of caught fish and farmers with conical hats on fields and beaches,” said artist Nguyen Lieu.

Lieu’s hats are worn by women in colorful costumes. For a long time, conical hats were common for farmers, especially women, as the hats protect them from scorching heat at noon or the coldness of misty nights.

“To me, conical hats are a symbol of the destiny of humans as they are sported by people all over the country who witness misery and hardship,” added Lieu.
 
Tet Flower Street features beauty of villages, islands

Nguyen Hue Flower Street 2012 on Lunar New Year takes place from January 20 (the twenty-seventh day of the lunar December) to January 26 (the fourth day of the lunar January) in HCMC’s District 1.

Themed Viet Nam – Que huong toi (Vietnam – My homeland) the street is one of the main festival activities in town which depicts the beauty of three regions and islands in Vietnam.

The street will be on display throughout Nguyen Hue Boulevard and apart from spaces for flowers and music, there is a charity pond to raise funds for charity and food and drink stalls. In the final day’s night there is a music show to serve visitors.

Streets that are restricted for traffic during the Lunar New Year 2012 are:

- Nguyen Hue Boulevard: Cars are banned from Nguyen Hue Boulevard to Ton Duc Thang Street from January 10 to 27 (the seventeenth day of the lunar December to the fifth day of the lunar January).

- From January 20 to 26: Motorbikes and cars are not allowed to travel on Nguyen Hue Boulevard because this street will be turned into a walking street. Means of transportations are banned from the corner of Le Loi and Pasteur streets to the City Opera House from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. on January 26 (the fourth day of the lunar January).
 
Saigontourist will be in charge of building the flower street as well as organizing other events for the Tet festival 2012 including banh tet (glutinous rice cake) cooking festival from January 16 to 20 (the twenty third day to the twenty-seventh day of the lunar December) at 24 city districts, fireworks displays and lighting effects and music performances.

The preparation for the flower street will take place from December 26 to January 8.

HCMC hosts exhibition on Vietnamese heroic mothers  

An exhibition on Vietnamese heroic mothers will be held at the Southern Women's Museum in Ho Chi Minh City on December 20.  

The exhibition will feature more than 100 photographs and 600 objects related to the Vietnamese heroic mothers and will also honor their skills and responsibilities in the household and their valour in war time.

The exhibits are chosen from over 3,000 objects and photographs of Vietnamese heroic mothers that were collected by the HCMC Southern Women's Museum over the last six months.

Ho Chi Minh City has 2,086 Vietnamese heroic mothers listed, of which only 165 are still alive.

The aim of researching, collecting and displaying objects related to heroic mothers by the museum, was to keep alive the cultural heritage of the past and build an archive of Vietnamese heroic mothers to educate the coming generations.

The event also aims to promote the sacrifices of Vietnamese women, their traditional role and contribution towards national liberation in the eyes of the youth in the country.

There will be exchanges between Vietnamese heroic mothers namely, Pham Thi The, Tran Quang Man, Ho Thi Ha, Nguyen Thanh Tung, Nguyen Thi Da, Son Thi Ky and Le Thi Thu with visitors at the exhibition.

The event will be held at 202 Vo Thi Sau Street in District 3 and will also mark the 67th anniversary of People’s Army Day on December 22.