DJ Ronski Speed set for New Year's countdown in Ha Noi
 
World top 100 DJ Ronski Speed will stir up the festive atmosphere in the August Revolution Square in front of the Ha Noi Opera House on Saturday night to bring in the new year on December 31, from 8pm.

Danish pop band Asteroids Galaxy Tour will also perform with their hit The Golden Age.

Vietnamese-Australian singer Thanh Bui, who was among the top eight finalists in Australia Idol 2008 and the Rhapsody Philharmonic – which includes Viet Nam National Academy of Music students – will also perform at the event.

Hosted by the Holland's brewer Heineken, the countdown party is expected to attract thousands of people to join in welcoming the new year.

TV rights uncertain 3 days ahead of league start

With three days to go before Vietnam’s top-tier football Super League 2012 kicks off, local television stations have yet reached a deal with TV firm AVG, who won exclusive rights to air the top leagues for 20 years from 2010, to broadcast matches.

Since its opening last month, the digital provider of TV channels in Vietnam, AVG, has yet developed its own channel to broadcast nationwide, so it still depends on other TV stations to air football matches, which is the king of sports in Vietnam.

In the current situation, major television channels such as VTV, HTV and VTC have had little patience in planning their broadcasting.

Things became even more complicated when VTC sports channel director Vu Quang Huy announced that he would prefer filming selected matches on the field, produce TV waves, and broadcast them on the company’s own, instead of airing them on available waves produced by AVG.

Le Van Phu, chief of the sports department at HTV, has revealed that he may stop airing football games of the Super League as the channel did during the 2010 season, when the organization was still called the V-League.

Recently, it has been reported that AVG has drafted a three-choice plan for TV stations to buy, including TV waves with advertisements produced by AVG, ‘clean’ waves without ads produced by AVG, and ‘raw product’, that is matches that TV stations will produce themselves and air on their waves.

The draft plan seems to suit all of the demands made by the TV stations, but AVG has yet to publicly announce it as final, nor has it cited a reason for not doing so.

A source from the Vietnam Professional Football (VPF) company, a marketing and sales agent of the Vietnam Football Federation, revealed that the VPF will consult with AVG in order to make a final decision soon.

Sheraton lets revellers welcome 2012 in style

The Sheraton Hanoi Hotel's Song Hong Ballroom will host the Moet Star of the Night event on New Year's Eve, welcoming 2012 in style. It will kick off with a cocktail reception in the courtyard followed by a selection of

fine cuisine, internationally acclaimed acts, and a DJ playing hit music from the last 40 years. Tickets cost VND2,600,000++ per person and include free flow Moet champagne until 1am.

Toastmasters meet to improve public speaking skills

Become a better speaker, listener and leader and gain the confidence needed for success in your chosen path. From January 2012, Hanoi Speakers will hold regular Toastmasters meetings on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of every month to help members improve their public speaking.

The first meetings will take place on the third floor of the KOTO building at 59 Van Mieu Street on Tuesday, January 3 and 17, from 6.45pm-9pm.

The first half of meetings will focus on Table Topics where members develop their impromptu speaking skills. Topics will be discussed before a brief intermission and during the second half, members will deliver prepared speeches to an audience. The evening will be a mix of learning, fun and positive feedback about members' performances.

The attending fee is VND50,000. For more information, go to www.toastmasters.org

New Year's Eve Chips and Gravy
 
DJ AJAM and Randy Marsh (Rum&Bass) will be on the decks for the New Year's Eve Chips and Gravy party at Godmother Bar on Saturday, December 31. Free entry from 9pm till 4am.

For more information contact Philip Leonard at 01269336758.

Godmother Bar, 129 Cong Quynh Street, District 1.

Jazz queen Loan pays tribute to immortal melodies

Jazz queen Tuyet Loan performs with her band every night from 8:30pm-10.30pm the immortal melodies of 60s and 70s at Calibre Charner, 1st floor, Palace Saigon, 56-66 Nguyen Hue Street, District 1, Tel: (08) 38292860.

Designer furniture store offers 30% discount

Customers at Gaya – Viet Nam's exclusive stockist of Australian designer Lawson Johnston's furniture collection – can enjoy 30 per cent of the entire outdoor range in January 2012. Every item by Lawson Johnston is an investment piece and potential heirloom that can stand the test of time.

For further information, call (08) 39251495 or email info@gayavietnam.com

Arts event finds inspiration in life and death

A 3-day arts event will showcase the works of visual and performing artists organised by Saigon Players and Boomerang Bistro Saigon on January 13-15. Participants will include professional, amateur and student

artists (painters, sculptors and photographers) who will contribute art pieces depicting the theme, La Vita e la Morte (Life and Death).

Live performances by theater actors, dancers and musicians will also be featured.

Proceeds from this festival will go to the charity group Helping Hand Saigon to fund scholarships for children affected with HIV or have parents who died from AIDS.

The event will take place at Boomarang Bistro Saigon, The Crescent Residences 2, CR2 3-4, 107 Ton Dat Tien Street, Phu My Hung, District 7, Tel: (08) 54136592.

Vietnamese ranked among world’s most beautiful

Online entertainment review website TC Candler ranked Vietnamese-Australian Natalie Tyler Tran at No.17 in its “100 Most Beautiful Faces 2011” list.

TC Candler, well-known for its non-commercial movie review founded its annual independent critic list “100 Most Beautiful Faces” in 1990.

Since then, it has chosen top beauties based on their popularity, grace, elegant and also cultures, lifestyle and profession.

Born in 1986 to Vietnamese parents in Sydney, Natalie (or Tran Dinh To Han in Vietnamese) is a world famous video blogger whose Youtube channel has been subscribed by nearly 1 million viewers around the world.

This year marks the second time she has made it to the list. Last year, she was No.88.

Considered as the most subscribed Australian Youtuber of all time, Natalie’s videos have more than 350 million views and she has been widely covered by both local and international media.

Her video capture stories from the young woman’s daily life spiced with a sense of humor and creativeness.

The young beauty studied digital media at the University of New South Wales and enjoys traveling and Internet communication in her free time.

British young actress Emma Watson who rose to fame playing “Hermione” in the “Harry Potter” sequence tops this year’s “100 Most Beautiful Faces”, followed by American actress Camilla Belle, singer Rihanna and Australian actress Emily Browning.

Korean actress Song Hye Kyo who is No. 5 is the most beautiful face from Asia.

Environment photo contest announces winners

A photo album titled “Ong Hut va Moi Truong” (Straws and the Environment) taken by Nguyen Ngoc Quan’s group has won the first prize of “One Picture, One Action,” a nationwide photo contest on environmental

protection launched by Canon four months ago.

Tien Khanh’s group won the second prize with their photo album titled “Your Choice”. “Con Rung Con Mung” (Glad we still have forests) by Tac Ke Bong Group received the Special Prize from the jury for its creative idea.

The contest, which was held as part of a campaign to raise awareness about environmental issues among Vietnamese youths, attracted around 60 albums from young photographers around the country.

In September, local celebrities including singer Tung Duong, model Ha Anh, actress Hong Anh, Vietnam Idol 2010 Uyen Linh and runner-up Van Mai Huong, singers Thu Minh and Hoang Thuy Linh and dance port champion Khanh Thi also took pictures for the campaign.

500 books featuring their photos together with winning photo albums will be handed over to high schools and universities in Ho Chi Minh City to call for attention to environmental issues.

Vietnam, Laos hold cultural exchange between ethnic groups

A cultural exchange between Vietnamese and Lao ethnic minority groups was held in Vientiane on December 28 by the Vietnamese Government’s Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs and the Lao Front for National Construction (LFNC) Central Committee.

Among those present at the function were senior Lao Party and State leaders, Minister and Chairman of the Vietnamese Government’s Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs Giang Seo Phu, Vietnamese ambassador to

Laos Ta Minh Chau and representatives of overseas Vietnamese in Vientiane.

The two countries’ arts schools gave performances imprinted with the ethnic identities of Vietnamese and Lao cultures.

Project preserves Sa Huynh cultural relic site

A VND32 billion project was launched on December 28 to conserve the Sa Huynh cultural relic site in the central province of Quang Ngai.

The relic site is the place where French archaeologist M. Vinet unearthed more than 200 jar tombs in 1909. Vinet was also the first person to discover Sa Huynh culture.

Covering an area of 20,000 sq.m in Pho Khanh and Pho Thanh communes of Duc Pho district, the project will feature an outdoor exhibition section and a showroom to display objects belonging to Sa Huynh culture discovered in the province several years ago.

The project is scheduled for completion by the end of 2013.

'The tranquil piano rhythm' to charm Saigon  

“The tranquil piano rhythm,” a performance to celebrate 50 years of music by beloved Saigonese music composers and pianist Nguyen Anh 9, will take place at ATB café in Ho Chi Minh City on Dec. 31, 2011 and Jan. 1, 2012.

This program is also organised to celebrate the 72th birthday of Nguyen Anh 9, who is famous for classic love songs including Khong (No More), Buon Oi Chao Mi (Good Bye To Sadness), and Tinh Khuc Chieu Mua (A Rainy Afternoon Love Song).

At the special performance, music lovers will hear songs by Nguyen Anh 9 during different periods of his musical journey, as well as his latest songs.

Many singers such as Anh Tuyet, Thuy Duong, Minh Thao and Xuan Truong will join the celebration.

100,000 flower baskets to decorate Nguyen Hue Street  

A phenomenal 100,000 flower baskets will be used to decorate Nguyen Hue Flower Street in ten days by January 10 for the coming Tet Lunar New Year, said Tran Hung Viet, general director of Saigon Tourist Travel Company on Wednesday.  

The street will be opened to visitors from January 20 till January 26 or the fourth day of the first lunar month.

The decorative theme will be “Vietnam-my fatherland”.

The organizing committee plans to use bamboo and rattan for the basic decoration. Water hyacinths will be used for creating scales on sculptured dragons.

Rattan, bamboo products go on show

An exhibition of works made of rattan and bamboo is on at the Vietnam Culture and Arts Exhibition Center at 2 Hoa Lu Street, Hanoi.

Among the more than 300 exhibits are 110 entries by 141 contestants in a product design competition for 2011.

In the opening ceremony of the show, organizers announced the winners of three first, six second, nine third and 11 consolation prizes. The winning pieces were assessed based on criteria such as uniqueness, creativity and practicality.

In addition to introducing new creative products to the public, the exhibition is aimed at honoring local rattan and bamboo knitting arts.
 
Hue Royal Antique Museum reopens in New Year
 
Long An Palace - Hue Royal Antique Museum at 3 Le Truc Street in Hue City will reopen on January 1 after nearly four years of renovation, reports VietnamPlus.

Long An Palace, built in 1845 under the reign of King Thieu Tri, belongs to the Hue royal heritage system. When the king died in 1847, the palace was where to keep the king’s body for eight months before his funeral ritual.

In 1908, the palace was chosen as Tan Tho Vien (New Library) for Quoc Tu Giam School. In 1923, it became Khai Dinh Museum displaying and preserving royal treasures.

The museum has diverse collections, focusing on fine arts in Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945), including of royal costumes, ceramic works, household utensils used in the forbidden palace, and sets of glass paintings and ethnic musical instruments for ceremonies and festivals in the royal palace.

The museum manages 10,801 antiques, of which 8, 388 are on display at the museum and 2,413 are preserved at 12 other places. Antiques were made of pottery, wood, bronze, precious metal, fabric and stone.

The highlights include collections of old money of Vietnam, Japan and China, sets of terra-cotta tea pots and a collection of ceramic works.