Teams compete in paintball battle

A five-member team from Da Nang's culture, sport and tourism department won the city's biggest paintball competition at the Military Zone 5 Sport Centre yesterday.

They beat Y Lan Hotel in the final of the Da Nang Paintball Open after successfully hitting four of their five opponents in the battle on a 1,000sq.m course, walking away with a cash prize of VND24 million (US$1,200).

The Da Nang Rubber corporation team came third.

It's the second time that the entertainment event has been held in the city.

As many as 16 teams competed in five knock-out rounds over the course of two days.

China ties uplifted in song contest

The final Viet Nam selection of the third Viet Nam-China singing contest was held last Saturday in Ha Noi, with the participation of the 10 best contestants.

In the Viet Nam final, each contestant performed a song in Vietnamese and one in Chinese.

Tran Thu Thuy from Nam Dinh Province was first with the Vietnamese song Mien Xa Tham (The Distant Region) and the Chinese song Tian Lu (A Road in Heaven). The second prize went to Le Thi Huong Tra of Nghe An Province and Hoang Viet Danh of central Quang Binh Province. Third-equal went to Dinh Van Luong of Quang Ninh Province, Vo Thi Huyen Trang of Ha Tinh Province and Nguyen Quynh Huong of Lao Cai Province.

They will compete against six Chinese candidates at the international final to be held in Guilin City of China's Guangxi Province, in November.

The contest attracted more than 200 participants from throughout the country, many of them students from colleges and universities. It aims to strengthen the relationship and mutual understanding among the people of the two countries.

The event is co-organised by the Quang Ninh Radio and Television Station, VTC Digital Television, Guangxi Radio and TV station, and China Radio International (CRI).

Japanese artist to perform in City

Katsura Utazo will perform Rakugo, a traditional Japanese one-man show, in Ha Noi and HCM City on Wednesday and Saturday.

Rakugo originated in the 16th century and became established as an art form during the Edo era (17-18th century). It is always performed by one artist, who sits still in one place and acts out stories with a comic style and structure.

In his performance, Utazo will act out funny Japanese stories with Vietnamese subtitles including The Idiot Yotaro; Long and Short and The Devil of Death. The Devil of Death is an adaptation of Godfather Death from Grimms' Fairy Tales.

Utazo was named the highest Rakugo master in 2005. Since then, he has been enthusiastically sharing the fun world of Rakugo with Japanese spectators as well as audiences in other countries.

He gave his first Vietnamese performance in 2010.

The shows will be held at Radio the Voice of Viet Nam (VOV)'s Theatre at 58 Quan Su Street, Ha Noi, at 8pm on October 24 and at HCM City's Student Cultural House at 643 Dien Bien Phu Street on October 27.

Free tickets are available at 27 Quang Trung, Hoan Kiem, Ha Noi and 15 D5, Ward 25, Binh Thanh District and 453 Huynh Van Banh Street, Phu Nhuan District in HCM City.

Work begins on northern theatre

Construction of the Viet Bac Theatre officially began on Friday in the northern city of Thai Nguyen, funded by the State, which provided VND320 billion (US$15 million).

Covering around 1.1ha on one of the main streets in the city, the building will include a main hall with 1,200 seats as well as two smaller ones with 200 seats each. The theatre will showcase traditional folk performances and art.

Construction on the multi-functional cultural theatre is scheduled to be completed in 2016.

Vietnamese female author wins top Italian prize

The Italian embassy in Ha Noi last Friday, Oct 19, awarded the author Pham Hoai Diep the first prize in a contest for women.

The competition, titled I Am Wonderful, is the brainchild of Italian journalist Loredana De Vitis and has received attention throughout Europe. The Italian embassy launched the Vietnamese version in March and called for women to send photos or stories which reveal their beauty and behaviour. In addition to the main competition, monthly prizes have also been awarded.

Diep, who lives in Ha Noi, was the winner of June's prize with a piece of writing entitled Escape. She wrote about her permanent worry and the pressure she puts on herself to be beautiful. The work impressed judges enough for them to crown her the winner of the whole contest.

All the winners were sponsored by the embassy and the Viet Nam Women's Association to attend in the official awards ceremony.

De Vitis's photos and the works of the winning entrants will be shown together at an I Am Wonderful exhibition held at the Museum of Vietnamese Women on 36 Ly Thuong Kiet Street.

VNN/VOV/VNS