The Voice Kids kicks off

The Vietnamese version of The Voice Kids will be aired on VTV3 from Jun 1.

The first season of the show will be open to children between the ages of 9 and 15.

The show will feature four rounds including the blind auditions, the battles and the sing-off. Following the auditions, 45 contestants in three teams will go on to perform in live shows. The live shows will be judged by four famous recording artists.

The Vietnamese version of The Voice Kids will be aired on VTV3 from June 1.

The winner will be awarded a cash-prize of VND300 million (roughly US$15,000) and a VND200 million ($10,000) scholarship.

A song writing contest will also be launched for aspiring teenage lyricists, and the winning entry will receive VND 50 million ($3,000) and have their song performed on the final night.

The Voice Kids is a Dutch television programme which was first aired in 2012.

Love duet singing festival opens in Bac Ninh

The Lim festival dedicated to Quan Ho (traditional love duet singing) opened in the northern province of Bac Ninh on February 21.

The annual spring festival attracted thousands of people who came from across the country.

Performances by local amateur artists are being held over two days on Lim hill in Tien Du district where Lim pagoda is located. The pagoda is dedicated to Hieu Trung Hau, who invented Quan Ho.

Professional singers from the Bac Ninh provincial Cultural Centre and the Bac Ninh Quan Ho Troupe will also perform on February 21 and 22 nights.

Besides Quan Ho singing, an array of folk games are organised to entertain visitors, like bamboo swinging, wrestling, cock fighting, earthenware pot breaking, human chess and blind man’s bluff.

The love duet singing, which was inscribed in the UNESCO's representative list of intangible cultural heritage of humanity in September 2009, is an art form combining various elements, including music, lyrics, costume and a unique style of singing that reflects the close relationship between the singers.

The rich and diverse tunes and fine lyrics of the songs portray the zest for life and distinctive cultural features of people in the region formerly called Kinh Bac.

National heritage of Long Tong festival recognised

The northern mountainous province of Tuyen Quang celebrated the Long Tong (going to the field) festival and received a certificate recognising the Tay ethnic ritual as part of the national intangible cultural heritage on February 21.

Long Tong festival, together with Then singing, are traditional cultural features of the Tay ethnic minority group in the north and were both added to the list of national intangible cultural heritage earlier this year.

The festival opened at Pu Bao temple in Lam Binh district with the offering of trays of local specialties to the gods to thank them for good crops and to ask for their blessings to enjoy favourable weather conditions and have a comfortable and happy life in the New Year.

After prayers and rituals performed by a local shaman, Deputy Minister of Culture-Sports and Tourism Dang Thi Bich Lien presented the heritage certificate to provincial officials.
A Tich Dien (going to the field to plough) ceremony followed and then visitors were invited to participate in a range of cultural and sporting activities, including stilt walking, archery, and “con” (cloth ball) throwing.

Long Tong is the biggest agricultural festival in the northern mountainous Viet Bac region, which consists of the Bac Kan, Thai Nguyen, Tuyen Quang, Cao Bang, Lang Son, and Ha Giang provinces.

Tay ethnic festival receives recognition

The Government has recognised an ethnic Tay festival that celebrates farming as an example of national intangible heritage.

Official recognition of the “Going to the Field” festival was made in the northern province of Tuyen Quang yesterday, following a worship ceremony at Pu Bao Temple, a holy place for the local ethnic Tay group in Lam Binh District.

The ceremony was held to praise the gods and wish for a prosperous year, favourable weather and bumper crops.

Deputy culture minister Dang Thi Bich Lien handed over a certificate of recognition to representatives of local authorities at the event.

A dance by 400 local high-school students then opened the festivities, which included folk “then” singing and traditional games.

“Long tong” in the Tay language means “going to the field”, and the tradition has been continued across generations of local people. It is a chance for local farming families to express their gratitude to the gods and their ancestors, who helped ensure wealth, healthiness and happiness.

Last Sunday, the same ceremony was held by local authorities to receive recognition of ethnic Tay “then” singing as an intangible national heritage.

According to statistics from 2009, the Tay ethnic group is the second largest in the country after the majority Kinh, with more than 1.6 million people. They are scattered throughout the nation and are concentrated in the northern mountainous areas. Lang Son, Cao Bang and Tuyen Quang provinces are home to the largest Tay populations.

Vegetable village holds festival

Thousands of people flocked to Cau Bong Festival last Saturday in Tra Que vegetable village outside the historic town of Hoi An to pray for good weather and prosperity.

During the festival, local people showed their talent in growing vegetables and preparing foods like cao lau (noodles served with pork and greens), Mi Quang (Quang Nam-style noodles) and tom huu, a specialty of the village.

Covering 18ha, Tra Que has a total volume of 540 tonnes of vegetables worth VND9.2 billion per year.

Its products are distributed in HCM City, Da Nang, Hue and Quang Nam Province. Last year, the vegetable village also welcomed over 12,700 local and international tourists who joined the “Be a Farmer for the Day in Tra Que” tours.

VNN/VOV/VNS