Craft village fair to open later this month

Around 350 stands will be displayed at the Vietnamese Craft Village Fair 2012, scheduled to be held at Hoa Binh Square in the northern province of Nam Dinh from September 25-30, announced the Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Development (MARD) at a press conference in Hanoi on Tuesday, Sept 18.

The fair will showcase and sell products from various crafts, demonstrate craft making skills and introduce exhibits from craft villages from many different localities.

The event is also a good opportunity to for the craftsmen to share their experience and skills, as well as help to promote trade and tourism by advertising through images of the craft villages and their products.

During the fair, many interesting arts programmes will be held to attract visitors. The MARD will also co-ordinate with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Nam Dinh provincial People's Committee to organise a seminar on developing craft villages and tourism.

Bitexco Financial Tower holds lantern design contest

Bitexco Financial Tower has launched a lantern design contest to celebrate Mid-Autumn with a colorful Lantern Galore Festival 178 meters high at the Saigon Skydeck on the 49th floor.

Lanterns have to be handmade and be between 30cm and 100cm tall and made of any materials, except plastic to protect the environment. Designers have to attach their name and phone number on their lantern in order for organizers to hand out awards.

Lanterns can be lighted by a pin or candle without smoke. The organizers will receive the first 200 lanterns from now to September 29.

They will be displayed on the Saigon Skydeck from September 23 to 30, giving a chance for tourists to indulge in the colorful atmosphere in the moonlight and taking a panoramic view of the city below. Contestants will be given a free ticket to visit the Skydeck.

The winner will be given a pair of Adidas shoes worth VND3 million and a romantic dinner for two at the Strata Restaurant on the 50th floor. Adidas shoes worth VND3 million and a voucher for dinner for two at the Hogsbreath Restaurant on the ground floor will be given to the runner-up.

Meanwhile, the third prize getter will win a pair of Adidas shoes worth VND3 million and dinner for two at the Elle Cafe on the ground floor. There are ten consolation prizes of Adidas bags worth VND800,000 each.

Organizers will also hand out 500 D’art Chocolates for children at the Mid-Autumn Festival. The contest is not for Bitexco staff or their relatives.

For more information, contact the ticket office at Saigon Skydeck, 36 Ho Tung Mau Street in HCMC’s District 1, tel: (08) 3915 6156, web: www.saigonskydeck.com.

Belgian region helps restore Hue ancient house

A 175-year-old house has been restored to its former glory in Phuoc Tich ancient village, the central province of Thua Thien-Hue.

This is the first time Nha Ruong, a typical kind of houses in the old time in Hue and the central region, to be restored under a co-operation project between Thua Thien- Hue province and the Wallonie-Bruxelles region of Belgium. The project aims to preserve and promote the cultural heritage of ancient villages to help tourism development.

Formed in 1470 under the reign of King Le Thanh Tong, Phuoc Tich is the second village in Vietnam recognised by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as a national cultural and historical relic site.

Spreading along the poetic O Lau River, about 40 km north of Hue city, the village still preserves over 100 ancient houses. People here live on making pottery.

Phuoc Tich is now a popular tourist destination in Thua Thien-Hue.

Publishing sector’s 60th anniversary celebrated

A ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of Vietnamese publishing industry was held by the Ministry of Information and Communications in Hanoi on September 18.

Over the past 60 years, the sector has promoted its tradition, enhanced the solidarity and recovered from shortcomings to fulfill all political roles and production targets as a pioneer in the Party’s promotion of ideology and culture.

Vietnam now has 64 publishers, 1,500 printing houses and 13,700 book houses and centres. The sector has published 225,421 book titles and 2.5 billion books.

It continues to strengthen and expand its co-operation with regional and international publishing bodies. The Vietnam Publishers Association is a founder of the Asia-Pacific Publishers Association.

Since its establishment when President Ho Chi Minh signed the Ordinance No.122/SL to set up the National Printing House on October 10, 1952, the sector has continuously improved its human resources, facilities, technical and professional qualifications.

The sector was honoured with the presentation of a banner embroidered with the lettering “Publishing industry, 60 years of tradition, development and integration” from the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat (PCCS).

City hosts Cordon Bleu Centenary

French music night ‘Cordon Bleu Centenary - 100 years of passion’ will take place on September 28 at HCMC Opera House in District 1.

The program is directed by Vietnamese choreographer Tan Loc and French creative consultant Henri Hubbert. Music will be directed by composer Vo Thien Thanh and music editor Huyen Thanh.

Cordon Bleu Centenary is a combination of music and contemporary dance in the theme of some classic French songs over the past century.

Entrance is free and you can send an email to cordonbleu100ys@jigsaw.com.vn or contact Ms Hong Nhi at 0122 359 1064 for invitations.

Mid-Autumn Festival in Phan Thiet

The Mid-Autumn Festival this year will take place on the night of September 29 (the fourteenth day of the eighth lunar month) at Nguyen Tat Thanh Square in Phan Thiet City in the coastal province of Binh Thuan.

According to Nguyen Van Luan, vice chairman of the People’s Committee of Phan Thiet and head of the festival’s organizing committee, most elementary and secondary schools in the locality will join the event. Each school will carry a large lantern not over 4.5m high and 80 to 100 small lanterns.

After the opening ceremony and gift granting to students, there’s a lantern parade stretching 2,000 meters on some main streets in the city. At the event there will be a contest for best lanterns in the parade.

People in districts and communes in the city will have their own Mid-Autumn celebrations on the night of September 30.

The annual festival, which is a cultural feature of Phan Thiet City, has attracted great numbers of domestic and foreign tourists. The lantern parade in the city is acknowledged as the biggest parade in Vietnam.

Run to inspire people with disabilities

Join Paralympians from Ha Noi and disabled people with wheelchairs this weekend at INSPIRE RUN and experience a one-day exploratory and dynamic lifestyle while contributing to the community.

Organised by the Ha Noi Hash House Harriers & Harriettes, the run aims to raise public awareness about the needs of people with disabilities as well as funds for the INSPIRE Sports programme. Run by East Meets West, and implemented in Quang Tri Province, the programme uses sport to empower people with disabilities with better health, self-confidence and social integration.

The event takes place at 3pm on Saturday at Co Loa Citadel, Dong Anh District, Ha Noi. A bus service will collect runners at the American Club, 21 Hai Ba Trung Street, at 1.30pm on the day.

Registration costs VND250,000 and includes bus fee, T-shirt, hat, water and other organisational fees, while the event is free for people with disabilities. To register, call 0935 888 906 or email thethaohoanhap@gmail.com

L'Espace night showcases musical talent

Cabaret Night at L'Espace sets the stage for new musical talents. Come here to enjoy great drinks and listen to fabulous French, English and Vietnamese songs.

If you are a songwriter, singer or can sing in French, Vietnamese or English, contact Cedric Drouard (cedminimum@hotmail.fr) to participate in Cabaret Music Night at L'Espace, 24 Trang Tien Street, on Saturday from 8.30pm to 9.30pm.
Admission is free.

Live Lounge returns to Ha Noi Rock City

The city's finest live and electronic artists will return to rule the Rock City stage on Saturday with an eclectic collage of sound at Live Lounge III.

With new flavours added to the mix each time, this popular event brings Ha Noi's lyrical and musical hotsteppers together to entertain and celebrate the transient and evolving nature of the capital and its music scene – with some old-timers providing the glue. This time around, 90s hip-hop, psychedelic shoe gaze, killer chord action and electronic tub-thumping are all on the agenda.

Come and enjoy the fun while it is as fresh as a morning baguette this Saturday, starting at 9pm at 27/52, To Ngoc Van Street.

Entrance is VND50,000 at door, while holders of a valid Vietnamese student card will receive a 50 per cent discount.

S Korean artists mark diplomatic ties

South Korean soprano Cho Hae-ryong, pianist Sun Young ju and violinist Ga Hyun-cho will all perform at the HCM City Opera House tomorrow night to mark the 20th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Viet Nam and South Korea.

Accompanied by the HCM City Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera, the three internationally acclaimed artists will perform River of My Mind, Song of Old Home Town, Les Filles de Cadix, Je Veux Vivre Dans ce Reve, and two pieces from L.Van Beethoven's concerto for piano and violin.

The performance will start at 7.30pm under the baton of two conductors, South Korea's Cho Hong – rae and Viet Nam's Tran Vuong Thach.

Park Hyatt opens soup cooking class

The Park Hyatt Hotel is offering a cooking class on Saturday that will teach participants how to make the famous pho (beef noodle soup).

Participants will learn how to perfect the textures and distinguish different facets of the dish.

The cooking class will begin at 2.30pm at the hotel's Square One restaurant. The Park Hyatt Hotel is located at 2, Lam Son Square, District 1. The class costs VND627,000++ per person.

Pursuit race organised by Wake Up Sai Gon

Wake Up Sai Gon, the group that "creates events to bring a little surrealism to daily life", will organise a Survive the Night race on Saturday.

"Runners will have to use their feet, mass transit and their wits to get their ‘passports' stamped at checkpoints spread out in the game grid and make it to the finish line first in order to win." This has to be done without getting caught by chasers.

Registration time is at 7pm on Saturday at The Spotted Cow, at 111 Bui Vien Street in District 1. The event will last till midnight.

Tearoom presents Japanese ceremony

"Operation: TEA" will host a traditional Japanese tea ceremony on Sunday. The tearoom will present a bowl of Japanese tea, Matcha, which will be prepared and served in the Japanese ceremonial style. The event will take place from 2pm to 5pm at 335/31 Dien Bien Phu Street in District 3.

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