Legend Marky Ramone performs in town



Drummer Marky Ramone, member of U.S. punk pioneers The Ramones, performs downtown for one night only with his new outfit Marky Ramone’s Blitzkrieg at the Hard Rock Café at 8 p.m. a week on Thursday.

Vietnam is just one of the destinations of the band’s world tour to commemorate his former colleagues and three founding members. The show in Vietnam will consist of an autograph signing session and a performance by houseband PicthBlack before Marky Ramone’s Blitzkrieg rocks the house.

The Ramones (1974-1996) are considered the first punk rock band. Famous artists who were influenced by the band include John
Frusciante, guitarist of the Red Hot Chili
Peppers and Steve Jones, guitarist of the Sex Pistols.

Tickets are priced at VND500,000. There is a 20% discount for bookings made in advance. For more details, contact 08 6291 7595.

String Orchestra to dazzle capital audience

Hanoi Strings Chamber Orchestra will play masterpieces at 8 p.m. on Friday under the baton of Professor Ngo Van Thanh at Vietnam National Academy of Music in Hanoi.

The concert consists of two contents. The first features Divertimento in D by Mozart, Suite in B minor for flute and Strings Orchestra by Bach and Concerto for 3 Violins by Vivaldi.

The second introduces Sonata No 3 for String Orchestra in C by Rossini, ‘Solveig’s Song’ by Grieg and Puccini’s Aria Lauretta.

Flutist Le Thu Huong, violinists My Huong, Thu Binh, To Trinh and soprano Duyen Huyen and People’s Artist Tran Thu Ha will join the performance.

The concert will wrap up with ‘The Swan’ by Saint Saens, ‘Sad Waltz’ by Sibelius and ‘Flight of the Bumblebee’ by Rimsky Korsakov.

Tickets are priced at VND200,000 with a 50% discount for students of the Vietnam National Academy of Music and are available at the academy, 77 Hao Nam Street, Hanoi.

Contact Mr. Ta Quang Dong, tel. 0913 306 786 for further information.

Danang to import fireworks for April festival

A huge volume of fireworks will be imported for the Danang International Firework Competition 2012 scheduled for April 29-30 in Danang City, according to the city’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Four international teams from Canada, France, China and Italy and the team of host Vietnam will be participating in the two-night competition. Each team will have a firework display lasting 20-22 minutes with 4,000-6,000 fireworks, and the fireworks will be imported from Sunday to help teams get prepared for the competition.

According to the department, over 2,000 rooms of three- to five-star hotels in Danang City are almost fully booked during the competition days. Room occupancy at these hotels is already 96% as shown in the bookings two weeks ahead of the competition.

Meanwhile, two-star and smaller hotels with around 6,000 rooms are 60% full. Currently, it is almost unable to book rooms of hotels within a radius of one kilometer from the Song Han Bridge where the fireworks shows will take place.

All tickets of C1 and C2 grandstands among some 32,000 tickets released have been sold out while there are only a few tickets left for the grandstand C3 which is far from the competition’s stage.

The department recorded around 300,000 local and foreign visitors at the fireworks competition last year, and the number of visitors is estimated to be higher this year.

Therefore, Danang City has told air carriers to operate more flights to the city on the days before and after the competition. Visitors from Hanoi, Haiphong, Dalat and HCMC have now been able to fly to Danang.

The DIFC 2012 themed “The Colors of Danang” has the participation of international teams who were the champions of previous competitions with Canada in 2008, China in 2009, France in 2010, Italy in 2011 and the Danang team of Vietnam.

As part of the competition, many activities will be held such as a food festival, lighting decorations, flower boat parades, and music and fashion shows.

Media organizations from Vietnam’s major visitor-generating markets like Japan, Russia and South Korea are also invited to Danang to help promote the local tourism sector on this occasion.

Conference of historical cities closes in Hue

The 13th World Conference of Historical Cities closed in the former imperial city of Hue on April 18 after adopting a six-point declaration.

Under the declaration, presented by Chairman of the Hue City People’s Committee Phan Trong Vinh, delegates agreed to co-operate to build a common rule for historical cities: “Respect the past and look towards the future” and take initiative in partnering with member cities to establish an information network serving the research of documents regarding the restoration of heritage values.

The declaration also emphasises efforts to preserve and promote cultural and historical values during the process of integration and modernisation, improve awareness of the public, especially young people, about cultural and historical values, map out plans and programmes in support of local and regional initiatives on the restoration and management of heritage values and involvement in relevant conferences.

With three forums and conferences, the three-day conference sought the common voice in dealing with urgent issues emerging in historical cities.

Ahmet Koru, President of the Konya city Youth Association of Turkey stressed that tourism is not a tool to earn money but to promote the culture of each country.

Entitled, "Defining Universal Heritage, Challenges and Solutions,” the biennial event drew representatives, academics and the mayors of 32 cities from 16 countries and territories around the world.

Disabled Chinese ballet dancers performs at Hanoi charity show

Disabled Chinese ballet dancers Ma Li and Zhai Xiaowei will perform in Hanoi in a charity show this weekend.

In the show titled “The Empathy Hearts,” the duo will give a performance called “Hand in Hand”, which has made their name internationally.

28-year-old Zhai Xiaowei lost his left leg when he was 4, while Ma Li lost her right arm in an accident in 1996 when she was 19.

The pair met each other in 2005 and then encouraged each other to practice ballet. In 2007, their “Hand in Hand” performance won the Silver prize in CCTV’s (China’s national TV channel) Dance Contest, which attracted around 7,000 participants.

“The Empathy Hearts” is to be held by the Hanoi-based Family and Children magazine, the Capital Communications Corporation, and the city’s Red Cross, and will also feature a number of local artists.

Also at the show, around VND4billion (US$200,000) will be handed over to children with congenital cardiac diseases as well as disabled kids and dioxin victims across the country.

“The Empathy Hearts” will take place at 8pm on April 21 at the Hanoi Opera House at 1 Trang Tien Street, Hoan Kiem District.

The show will also be broadcast live on VTV2.

Local actress brings Trompe-l'oeil back to town

Local actress Ngoc Trinh and her South Korean husband Kim Se Hyuk will hold their second Trompe-l'oeil painting exhibition in downtown Ho Chi Minh City this weekend.

Titled “Funny 3D World,” the exhibition will feature 50 oil paintings by Vietnamese and Korean artists.

“At the first exhibition, some foreign visitors said they wanted to see some works depicting Vietnamese people and culture. So we have added pictures of folk games, Vietnamese women and flowers,” the actress said.

The first 2-month exhibition was held in District 7 early this year and received positive responses from visitors.

The upcoming exhibition’s venue, Ben Thanh Theater, with the total area of more than 1,000 square meters, is designed in a continuing Z shape so that viewers can walk around and indulge themselves in a 3D world.

Dating back to 15th century Europe, Trompe-l'œil (Eye Trick) is an art technique involving extremely realistic imagery to create an optical illusion in which the depicted objects appear in three dimensions.

The exhibition will be opened on April 22 at 6 Mac Dinh Chi Street in District 1.

Leading lawmaker salutes ethnic diversity at gala event
 
National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung yesterday stressed Viet Nam's commitment to promoting solidarity among its 54 ethnic groups, calling cultural development a consistent national priority and motivator for socio-economic development.

Hung addressed a gala at the Vietnamese Ethnic Culture-Tourism village in Ha Noi honouring cultural diversity as part of the Vietnamese Ethnic Cultural Festival taking place here the past two days.

As part of the festival, a conference was also held to promote investment in cultural tourism, attracting 200 companies. At the conference, participants discussed various ways to promote tourims potential and called on investors to develop tourism products here.

Opened in 2010 in celebration of the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Ha Noi, the village is located on a 1,544ha area in Dong Mo, Son Tay, and is a complex of traditional Vietnamese architecture highlighting the unique characteristics of the nation's culture.

In order to promote cultural tourism, there must be proper policies to attract investors and detailed development plans with a focus on culture, said Saigontourist general manager Tran Hung Viet.

Pham Van Bong, a representative from an investment promotion and tourism company, said that there must be clear linkage between tour operators, relevant agencies and local authorities to promote cultural tourism.

Nguyen Nga, who initiated two cultural events on Long Bien Bridge on the occasion of the capital city's 1,000th anniversary, said the critical task was to create a living space that was rich in culture for ethnic groups and tourists alike.

Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Ho Anh Tuan called on investors and experts to continue contributing to the development of the village. A detailed development plan for the village would be formulated in the future, he said, and the State budget would be used to develop basic infrastructure, leaving other areas for investors.

Annual charity event to raise funds for disadvantaged and sick children

The fourth ‘Sympathy Hearts’ charity arts programme will be held at the Hanoi Opera House on April 21, to raise funds for disadvantaged children, in support of the National Day for People with Disabilities (April 18) and the Action Month for Children (June).

Through the programme, the organising board and sponsors will fund heart operations for 50 disadvantaged children born with heart conditions, with each operation costing approximately VND 50 million.

This years programme was announced at a press conference on April 18, by the Vietnam Television (VTV) and the Gia Dinh va Tre Em (Family and Children) magazine, under the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs.

The organisers will also offer 100 savings books, each worth VND 5-10 million; 20 wheelchairs and 400 gifts worth nearly VND4 billion in total to children with terminal illnesses, Agent Orange/dioxin victims and children with disabilities in 12 cities and provinces nation-wide.

The programme will be broadcast live on VTV Channel 2 and will feature songs and dances by Vietnamese artists, with the event’s highlight being performances by two disabled Chinese ballet dancers, Li Ming and Lin Fei.

Audiences will also have chance to meet and talk with leaders in the disabled peoples community, such as Lai Van Diep, Director of Interior Furniture and Fine Art Limited Company for Disabled People in Thai Binh province and Nguyen Son Lam, director of the Toa Sang (Shining) Education Joint Stock Company.

Festival to be held to honour reading culture

The Book and Reading Culture Festival 2012 will be held at Van Mieu - Quoc Tu Giam, the Temple of Literature in Hanoi on April 21-22 to mark World Book and Copyright Day (April 23).

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism made the announcement yesterday at a press conference in Ha Noi.

This year’s festival will feature a series of activities including book exhibitions, a speaking contest about favorite books and an illustration competition, which aim to attract both students and teachers from schools in Ha Noi.

On the occasion, the organising board has invited publishing houses, individuals and organisations to collect books and newspapers to send to the people and soldiers on islands and in remote areas after the festival has finished.

A Reading Day on the theme ‘Books – Knowledge – the Root of Success’ will also be held at the Vietnam National Library, 31 Trang Thi Street, Ha Noi on April 21. Participants will have the opportunity to meet and exchange ideas at a discussion entitled ‘Book – Library – Reader’.

A series of similar programmes will also take place in many provinces and cities across the country.

The events are part of the strategy until 2020 to honor and develop a reading culture , that encourages the public, especially young people, to read more books.