Art auction to support cleft palate surgery for children

Works by several popular artists will go under the hammer at an annual charity dinner in HCM City on Saturday to raise funds for performing cleft palate operations for Vietnamese children, this time in Nghe An Province.

This is for the eighth year that NGO Operation Smile Viet Nam is holding the An Evening of Smiles dinner and auction at the Park Hyatt Saigon Hotel, and this year hopes to raise enough money for reconstructive surgeries for some 500 underprivileged kids.

Three hundred guests will attend and bid on artworks donated by several wellknown artists like Nguyen Ngoc Anh, Le Anh Can, Do Ngoc Cuong, Than Trong Dung, and Ha Hung Dung, as well as by art collectors, designers, and photographers.

Rob Blain, CEO of CBRE, Asia Pacific, who has been supporting Operation Smile since its inception in 2002, will again conduct the auction through the night.

Last year Operation Smile Viet Nam provided surgery and treatment to 2,600 children and young adults, and helped train hundreds of medical professionals and volunteers.

This year it hopes to provide corrective facial surgeries to 2,000 of the estimated 3,000 children born this year with facial deformities including cleft lips and palates.

Operation Smile, a non-profit organisation operating in developing countries, has treated 20,000 children in Viet Nam through local and international surgical missions.

Indian professor's book presented to Vietnamese public

The book Traces of Indian Culture in Viet Nam written by Professor Geetesh Sharma was presented to the public in Ha Noi yesterday, May 23.

The ceremony formed part of the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Viet Nam and India.

According to Indian Ambassador Ranjit Rae, Viet Nam has played an important role in the hearts of Indian people and that developing relations was an important part of the country's "Look East" policy.

In his 180-page book, Sharma emphasised the strong relations between India and Viet Nam that have existed for 2000 years. He affirmed that there was a kingdom of Hinduised Champa people spreading from Central Viet Nam to Binh Thuan Province that existed from the 2nd century to the 17th century A.D.

Born in 1932 in Bihar state in India, Sharma is president of the India Vietnam Solidarity Committee of West-Bengal. He has taken part in a number of activities to help Vietnamese people during their resistance for national independence and in the development of the country after the war. He has promoted the exchange of cultural and trade delegations between India and Viet Nam over the last years.

Top Taiwanese chefs delight hotel guests

Eight leading Taiwanese chefs rustled up mouth-watering treats for a gala dinner at Crowne Plaza West Ha Noi on Tuesday night.

Hosted by the Taipei Economic and Culture Office in Ha Noi in collaboration with the Vietnamese Economic and Culture Office in Taipei, the gala dinner was designed to introduce Taiwanese cuisine to local foodies.

Students pay musical tribute to Uncle Ho

More than 30 international students shared the stage with Vietnamese students to praise President Ho Chi Minh during a concert in Ha Noi on Tuesday.

Entitled The Gioi Hat Ve Nguoi (The World Sing to Praise Him), the show, which was hosted by the Vietnamese Students' Association, celebrated the 122nd birthday of the President on May 19.

Students from different countries, including Laos, Cuba, China, Russia, South Korea, Indonesia, Italy, Turkey, and Nigeria, performed well-known songs about the President.

First held in 2010, the concert was a cultural exchange activity for foreign students who are living and studying in Viet Nam. It aimed to raise their understanding of the country and the beloved leader of the Vietnamese people. In addition, the concert also helped to boost the friendship and solidarity between Vietnamese and international students.

‘Southern Fruit Festival 2012’ to be held in June

The ‘Southern Fruit Festival 2012’ will take place at the Suoi Tien Cultural Tourist Area in Ho Chi Minh City from June 1-23.

According to the organiser, the HCMC City Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the event will have various activities including a fruit floating-market, animal shaped fruit displays, most delicious fruit contest, and an ornamental tree and animal exhibition.

The festival will introduce to visitors a special collection of fruits such as 50-60kg pumpkins, 9kg coconuts and 3 kg mangos.

The Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism expects to attract more than one million visitors to the festival and bring about 1,500 kilos of fruits to the market.

In addition, foreign art troupes from Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia will join the fruit show, together with local groups.

Suoi Tien Cultural Tourist Area will offer free entry for children on opening day on June 1.

Japanese guitarist to perform Vietnamese folksong

Japan’s famous guitarist Yamada Gaku will perform at a concert in Ho Chi Minh City on May 29 together with local artist Nguyen Tri Doan, a member of the Saigon guitar club.

Born in 1981, Yamada Gaku learned to play the guitar at an early age and has won many prestigious prizes in Japan and Germany.

At the coming concert, the Japanese artist will play six pieces of music, including Prelude No.1 (Heitor Villa Lobos), Sonata No.2 (Hebert Vazquez), Soushun fu (Akira Nataka) Chaconne BWV1004 (J.S.Bach), Traumerei (R.Schumann), and Beo dat may troi (Drifting Blossoms, Floating Clouds) – a Vietnamese folksong.

National theatre merge canceled

According Ho Anh Tuan, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, on Monday the Ministry decided to cancel the planned merging of two popular theatres in the north – the Viet Nam Drama Theatre and Tuoi Tre (Youth) Theatre – to form a new theater called the Vietnam National Theatre.

On March 27, Minister of Culture, Sports, and Tourism Hoang Tuan Anh signed the Decision No. 1153 to combine the two theaters with the aim to develop the country’s dramatic arts.

Under the merging plan, People’s Artist Le Hung, who was director of the two theatres, was appointed the top leader at the new Vietnam National Opera Theatre. The new theatre would gather nearly 300 employees, including 100 artists from Viet Nam Drama Theatre and 180 from the Youth Theatre.

However, the merger faced opposition from artists from the Youth and the Vietnam Drama theatres as well as experts in the industry, since they thought the combination was not prepared carefully regarding both facilities and development orientations.

Before the cancellation on May 21, the Ministry had announced a plan on May 8 to postpone the merging after the fierce reactions from artists.

VNN/VOV/VNS/ND/SGGP