Celebrate India's most colourful festival

The Indian Business Chamber (Incham Ha Noi) will host a celebration of the Indian Festival of Colour on Sunday at the American Club, 21 Hai Ba Trung Street, from 10am till 3pm.

Join the event to throw coloured powder at each other and have loads of fun. Dance your way through peppy Bollywood numbers and treat yourself with unlimited drinks and mouth-watering Indian food at this truly unique festival.

Tickets include unlimited flow of drinks and food and cost VND250,000 for members, VND350,000 for non-members and VND100,000 for children between 8-12 years. Free entry for kids below 8 years old.

Cham relics to be on display in the US

Five significant relics of the Cham culture being kept at the Danang Museum of Cham Sculpture will be showcased in the US to serve international researchers of this culture.

The Metropolitan Arts Museum of the US has borrowed these Cham antiques for an exhibition from the end of March to July 2013 and the Danang city People’s Committee has agreed to loan them.

To ensure the safe transport and display of the pieces, the US museum purchased high-value insurance and will apply the best preservation methods during the transportation and display process.

Electronica show features transgender artist

Singaporean gender activist and sound artist One Man Nation will perform at CAMA ATK tonight as part of her latest Asian tour.

An experimental transgender musician, One Man Nation creates "found sounds" or mechanical sounds through instruments such as computers, hand drums and even chair screeching from body movements.

Luong Hue Trinh – one of Ha Noi's most exciting young electronica talents will share the stage with the Singaporean artist. The duo's performance will start at 9pm, at 73A Mai Hac De Street. Entry is VND100,000.

Opera performance to mark Vietnam-Japan diplomatic ties

An opera entitled “Yuzuru” will be performed at the Hanoi Opera House on March 29-30 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Vietnam-Japan diplomatic relations.

The event is co-organised by the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Japanese Embassy in Vietnam and the International Exchange of Japan (Japan Foundation).

The opera will be staged by soprano Ieda Noriko (as Tsu, a crane in human form who is the wife of Yohyo) and tenor Mochiki Hiroshi (as Yohyo, a poor farmer who dreams of becoming rich).

It will also draw the participation of a Vietnamese stage manager, People’s Artist Le Hung, the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra being directed by Japanese conductor Honna Tetsuji, the Hanoi Children’s Cultural Palace choir, and dancers from the Hanoi-based Youth Theater.

The Yuzuru opera was composed in 1951 by Ikuma Dan, based on the play of the same name written in 1949 by Junji Kinoshita.

The opera tells the story of a poor peasant farmer Yohyo who is lured by the prospects of wealth. His beautiful and gentle wife Tsu is the incarnation of a crane bird that he saved.

Wishing to make life easier for Yohyo, she secretly weaves a gorgeous cloth from her own feathers. In his desire to be rich, Yohyo urges the reluctant Tsu to weave more of the valuable fabric and finally the wife dies of a broken heart.

Tsu is transformed back into a crane and flaps her way into the snowy twilight night on her final journey.

Something about embroidery

Join an excursion on Saturday to Quat Dong traditional embroidery village to learn about local life as well as the sophisticated craft that is based here.

Hosted by Friends of Viet Nam Heritage (FVH) – a group consisting of foreigners living in the capital city who work voluntarily to promote and preserve Vietnamese cultural and historical heritage – the English-speaking excursion will take place from 8am until 3.30pm.

On the way to the village, which is about 23km from central Ha Noi, the excursion will make its first stop at the Dai Lo Temple dedicated to the Holy Mothers. Here, the group has a chance to witness a medium ceremony or see special offerings being made for good luck.

The tour continues to Quat Dong, where embroidery has been a traditional craft since the 17th century. The group will stroll through the village and stop to see embroidery projects undertaken by family members in their homes.

To register, contact Helen at helenshuntley@yahoo.com. Cost: VND300,000, including transportation, limit: 20 people.

HCM City book fair offers new titles

Many new titles including the Vietnamese translation of J.K. Rowling's The Casual Vacancy are on display and sale at the latest book fair that opened yesterday morning, March 17, at the HCM City Exhibition House.

Organisers said that the fair carries more than 60,000 copies of several hundred titles, most of them recently released by major publishers in the country.

The Tre (Youth) Publishing House has many new books including The Casual Vacancy, the first non-Harry Potter work by Rowling.

The fair also displays a large number of Vietnamese version of other foreign titles like Hector and the Search for Happiness by French writer Francois Lelord; and The Big Book of Brain Games – 1,000 Play Things of Art, Mathematics and Science.

The fair organisers said that on Saturday they will auction many old copies of rare and valuable books published in the 1930's-40's.

Several meetings between writers and readers are being arranged every day at the fair.

The fair is organised by the Nha Nam Co along with 12 major publishers including Tre, First News and Phuong Nam. It opens everyday from 8am to 10pm at the Exhibition House, 92 Le Thanh Ton Street, District 1. It closes on Sunday.

Cultural co-operation with Cambodia continues

Agreements on co-operation programmes this year between Viet Nam's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Cambodia's Ministry of Culture and Art were reached yesterday in Ha Noi.

The two sides will organise a "Cambodian cultural week in Viet Nam" and a Fine Arts Camp themed Viet Nam-Cambodia Friendship, plus cultural and art exchanges between the residents living along the bilateral border.

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Tuan Anh said art schools under the ministry's management would grant scholarships for Cambodian students.

Cambodian minister Him Chhem backed finding a suitable location for a Vietnamese Cultural Centre in Cambodia.

The ministers expressed pleasure at the results of their active cultural co-operation, which contributed to boosting the comprehensive and friendly co-operation between the two countries.

British music tradition on show in HCM City

The HCM City Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera and British Council will present a music and dance show at the Opera House tomorrow night.

The show will feature famous British works from the pre-classical era to the 20th century, and a modern ballet titled Dream Puzzle by young Vietnamese choreographers Phuc Hai and Phuc Hung.

The concert will also feature choirmaster Tran Nhat Minh and the HBSO choir and ballet group.
The show will open at 8pm. Tickets, available at the venue, cost VND200,000 – 400,000, and 80,000 for students.

German pianist to perform at conservatory

German pianist Daniz Inan will perform his own compositions together with the Sai Gon Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Do Kien Cuong at Opus 2 – Kayo's Journey, a programme at the HCM City Conservatory on Saturday.

The show will begin at 7pm at 92 Nguyen Du Street, District 1. Tickets cost VND200,000.

VNN/VNS/VNA