Giant shoe arrives in Vietnam

A giant shoe 500 times larger than normal is now on display at Diamond Plaza in HCM City.

The impressive model, measuring 2m x 0.5m x 1.2m, simulates every detail of the shoes that Salvatore Ferragamo designed for film actress Judy Garland in 1938.

The Ferragamo selected the rainbow-patterned shoe to up scale into giant proportions, representing his fashion house at La Triennale Design Museum in Milan.

The giant shoe is being displayed at Diamond Plaza from August 1-15.

RoK company sponsors Vietnamese student sports festival

The Kumho Construction Company will provide US$18,000 to the fifth Vietnamese Student Sports Festival in the Republic of Korea (RoK).

Addressing the signing ceremony for the donation in Seoul on August 1, Vietnamese Ambassador to the RoK Tran Trong Toan spoke highly of the company’s sponsorship of cultural and sport activities by the Vietnam Students Association in the RoK (VSAK).

For his part, Kee Ock, President of the Kumho Construction Company, said that Kumho and its parent company, Kumho Asiana Group, always sponsor all community cultural events.

At present, the group has assisted Vietnamese students through granting scholarships and organizing Korean language speaking contests in Vietnam, he said.

According to VSAK President Nguyen Ngoc Hoan, the student sports festival will take place from August 5-19.

Childrens' paintings win prizes

Students at the Ha Noi-based Sol Art Children Centre received significant honours at the Tianjin Culture and Art Festival 2012 in Tianjin, China.

According to the centre's Art Director, Dang Chau Anh, seven of the 21 paintings submitted to the festival by Sol Art students were awarded prizes.

The painting Please Help Me by the 11-year-old Le Dieu My was granted the Special Prize, while Childhood by Tran Thi Minh Anh, 14, and Conquer the Great Wall by Pham Phuong Chi received the Silver Prize.

The Bronze Prize was given to Children Watching Water Puppet by seven-year-old Dang Minh Anh.

Two other drawings by Sol Art students received the Encouragement Prize.

During the one-week festival, which wraps up tomorrow, Sol Art students got to experience a variety of cultural exchange programmes. The Vietnamese junior artists performed folk songs, accompanied by traditional musical instruments.

The Tianjin Culture and Art Festival 2012 showcased about 1,500 paintings by children all over the world. The paintings are all reflections on peace, nature and life.

VN fireworks light Canadian sky

Striking colours were accompanied on the sounds of music as Da Nang fireworks sparkled in the Canadian sky at the opening of the 2012 Honda Celebration of Light Fireworks Festival in Vancouver last Saturday. The 25-minute performance was divided into four parts: Country and People of Viet Nam, Country and People of Canada, Similarities of Da Nang and Vancouver; and Viet Nam-Canada: Co-operation for Development.

The festival is a major annual event in Vancouver and the world's biggest coastal fireworks festival, attracting around 400,000 viewers to each performance. This was the Da Nang team's first trip abroad for an international fireworks festival. Other participating countries in the week-long event were Brazil and Italy.

Martial arts on display

A collection of 18 weapons of Vietnamese and Binh Dinh traditional martial arts are being exhibited at Quang Trung Square in the city of Quy Nhon in the central province of Binh Dinh as part of the 4th International Vietnamese Martial Arts Festival which opened here yesterday.

At the festival's opening ceremony, martial artists performed movements typical for each of the weapons, which include a scimitar, long-handled spear, halberd, shield, and swords.

Thirteen pairs of Vietnamese martial arts uniforms are also displayed, most of them black uniforms with black, blue, yellow, red and white belts. Also on display are photos illustrating the weapons and uniforms used by master instructors from Binh Dinh Province.

Contest spotlights environment

A youth photo contest was launched yesterday in the central coastal city of Da Nang, seeking to highlight environmental challenges facing the city. Part of an environmentally and climate-friendly urban development in Da Nang funded by the German Ministry for Economic Co-operation and Development, the contest invites entrants aged 16-30 to take photos of their neighbourhoods and present their perspectives on the city's environment.

Photos could only be taken using film cameras supplied by the awarding authority, ensuring equal conditions of accessibility and quality. Moreover, traditional film photography was viewed as an artistic tool for obtaining exceptional photographs. The cameras, which are made of 82-per-cent recycled materials, will be collected afterwards for recycling.

The awards ceremony and exhibition of the winning photos will take place on August 22-28.
French institute screens German, French movies

The Institute of Cultural Exchange with France (IDECAF) will present a series of German and French movies with Vietnamese subtitles in August.

German films Kokowaah, a comedy, and Barfuss (Barefoot) will be screened every Tuesday at 7.30pm, beginning on August 7.
The French films, shown on Saturdays starting August 4, are Mauvaise Foi (Bad Faith), Les Chansons D'Amour (Love Songs), Qui M'Aime Me Suive (Who Loves Me, Follow Me) and Oubilier Cheynne (Looking for Cheyenne).

The screennings will begin at 3pm.

Tickets costing VND15,000 are available at the venue at 28 Le Thanh Ton Street, District 1.

International band Motion to perform at bar

International band Motion, comprising six members from the US, Canada, the UK and South Africa, will perform R&B, jazz, hip hop, rap and rock music at the Level 23 Nightspot, a bar at Sheraton Sai Gon Hotel and Towers.

The band is led by Robert Varro, a Canadian professional drummer and singer with over 20 years of experience playing music all over the world. He and his band have toured throughout the US, Taipei, Hong Kong, Seoul and Bangkok.

The band will perform from every Tuesday to Sunday from 9pm.

Hard Rock Cafe hosts karaoke contest

Hard Rock Cafe will host the preliminary rounds of this year's Karaoke World Championships for Viet Nam.

The competition will take place from 2-4pm every Saturday and Sunday in August and September. The winner will take part in the final to be held in Finland later this year. Thirty countries are participating in the contest.

People can register for the contest at website www.kwc.fi.

VNN/VOV/VNS