Hiromi Pham crowned Miss Vietnam in Japan

Hiromi Pham beat nine contestants to win the “Miss Vietnam in Japan” title in Kanagawa prefecture, south of Tokyo, on January 28.

She has received two air return tickets to Vietnam and other gifts from the organising board.

The 22-year old girl was born in Japan and has worked for a sports club in the country. Hiromi Pham said after the contest, she will try to learn Vietnamese to have better understanding of the fatherland in order to introduce its unique traditions and culture to international friends.

The second runner-up was Duong Thi Thuy who was born in 1987 in Japan and has worked for Nissan Automobile Corporation.

Other outstanding contestants were also presented with tittles “Miss Elegant”, “Miss Beautiful Face”, and “Miss Photogenic”.

The head of the organising board, Tong Thi Kim Giao said that the event aims to improve cultural life and strengthen solidarity within the overseas Vietnamese community in Japan.

The event, organised by Motiti Trading Inc attracted the participation of Vietnamese contestants aged 16-26 studying and living in Japan.

The jury board included representatives from the overseas Vietnamese community in Japan, and a Japanese entrepreneur.

Vietnamese youth talent competition 2012 in France

The final round of Vietnamese youth talent competition 2012 has been held at Armande Bejart Theatre, 25km far from Paris, France.

The first prize went to trio Ha My-Minh Anh-Hoang Long (from Paris), they successfully performed two songs “Di hoc” (Going to school) and “Que huong toi” (My native land) with an Acoustic style by playing the piano and drums themselves.

The second and third prizes were presented to Tran Mai Hanh (from Paris) and Nguyen Song Nguyen (from Aix en Province) who performed Vietnamese and French songs on the piano.

The competition was organized by the Union of Vietnamese Students in France (UEVF) with support from the Embassy of Vietnam in France, the Vietnamese Union in France (UGVF), the Vietnam Cultural Centre in France and the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines.

Together with a beauty contest for Vietnamese students in France, the competition takes place every two years to celebrate the Lunar New Year festival (Tet).

Vietnamese ambassador to France Duong Chi Dung applauded the initiative to hold the event that shows the growth of Vietnamese students’ movements in France. He encouraged them to study well and confirmed that the embassy is always eager to assist their movements.

During the event, the ambassador presented certificates of merit and prizes to Vietnamese students in some provinces and cities for their good study and active participation in various movements.

Vietnam Airlines awarded two round-trip tickets for the first prize winners to fly from Paris to Hanoi and vice versa.

National Tourism Year - Hue 2012 kicks off

Central Thua Thien – Hue province has been selected to host the National Tourism Year – Northern Central Coastal Area 2012. It will host a series of activities throughout the year to promote national tourism and lure international tourists.

Starting the National Tourism Year 2012, the province has organised some cultural and artistic programmes such as “A Hue Night in the South” and “Hue Love” as well as participated in international fairs in Thailand , China , Japan and Indonesia .

The province has focused on developing unique and special tourist products based on its resources, including tours to craft villages, while promoting the category of tourism that incorporate meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE).

Thua Thien-Hue has planned to form shopping and food streets in Hue City as part of its tourist draws. It will also increase tours to lagoons, garden houses, countryside markets, ancient villages and eco-tourist sites.

A portal on the National Tourism Year 2012 has been put into operation in Vietnamese, English and French languages to serve tourists. A website on this topic in Japanese was also created.

During the year, Thua Thien-Hue province will host 20 events, including 11 national and nine provincial events.

The province has so far had 48 infrastructure projects for tourism development with a total registered capital of nearly 50 trillion VND. It now has over 500 accommodation establishments, including 200 hotels and 300 inns.

Vietnamese beauty listed among sexiest alive

Daniela Nguyen Thu May, who finished third at Miss Supranational in Poland last August, was listed in the top 25 sexiest women alive 2011-12 last Friday by Global Beauties, a beauty pageant observer website.

The 25 sexiest women were shortlisted from more than 500 contestants at major pageant contests last year like Miss World, Miss Universe, Miss International, and Miss Supranational.

According to Global Beauties blog, originally 24 finalists made the cut, but one more was added this year due to the excellent level of beauties competing for the title of Sexiest Woman Alive 2011-12.

Born to a Vietnamese father and a Czechoslovakian mother, the 22-year-old Thu May, whose foreign name is Daniela Nguyen Nova from the Czech Republic, is the first Vietnamese beauty to enter the top 5 at an international beauty pageant.

She was crowned Miss Vietnam in Europe 2010 before attending Miss Vietnam World held in Nha Trang the same year and won the prize for the most beautiful face.

Currently a student of international business at the Prague University of Economics, May said she would consider working in Vietnam to learn more about the country after graduation.

Tet movies yet to hit new box-office record

None of the 5 Vietnamese (and 4 foreign movies) that are being screened nationwide for the Lunar New Year season has hit a new record in ticket sales.

BHD Star Cinema opens earlier and longer than usual during Tet, offering screenings from 7.45 am to 2 am on the following day. The number of screenings also increases to 9 sessions a day for Vietnamese movies.

Thanks to its Tet promotions, 5 theaters, each of which has 666 seats, were packed with movie-goers.

Out of the 5 Vietnamese movies, Hello Co Ba (Hello Ms. Ba), Thien Menh Anh Hung (Blood Letter), Le Phi Tinh Yeu (Love Fee) and Loi Nguyen Huyet Ngai (The Curse of Blood Wormwood), Hello Co Ba attracted the greatest number of audiences.

At Megastar and Galaxy theatres, however, Thien Menh Anh Hung was the biggest hit.

Dinh Thanh Huong, director of Galaxy Studio, said Loi Nguyen Huyet Ngai was screened one week earlier than other movies and had garnered a revenue of VND14 billion (US$672,000).

Hello Co Ba and Thien Menh Anh Hung have reaped VND11 billion and VND10 billion respectively after being in theatres for a week.

Still, none of these films has been able to break the sales record of last year’s Co Dau Dai Chien (Bride War): VND37 billion (US$1.7 million).

Theatre managers said one reason was competition. This Tet season, the local film market has been offered many choices of movies.
 
Pianist Marie Vermeulin to perform solo in Vietnam

French pianist Marie Vermeulin will perform solo piano at 8 pm at the Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory of Music on February 7 and at 8pm two days later at L'Espace - Institut Français de Hanoï in the capital.

She was a full time student from 2001 to 2004 at the Lyon Music Academy under the guidance of Hortense Cartier-Bresson and Edson Elias.

Later, under Roger Muraro, Vermeulin, who is also former student of Jacquelin Dussol, and Marie-Paule Siruguet at Music Academy of Boulogne, France, learnt more about French works in the 20th century.

In December 2009, she was awarded the “Pro Musicis” prize for performing for the disabled and the underprivileged.

Vietnamese photographer's show to depict images of France  

Vietnamese photographer Le Nguyen Duy Phuong will present a solo exhibition of his works called “One Corner of France” in Hanoi through February.

It will feature works Phuong had exhibited at two previous exhibitions in France from 2008 to 2010: one, a collection of portraits, and the other, “My Experience of France,” depicting the changes in light due to the changes in season in France.

They also reflect a sense of loneliness and silence, a press release from L’Espace said.

Admission to the exhibition at L’Espace, 24 Trang Tien Street, is free.

Phuong held an exhibition in October 2009 titled “Photoquai – Meetings of Perspectives” at the famous Quai Brandly Museum in France.

Precious jade collection on display in Hanoi  

A collection of jade works ranging from a large Buddha statue to wood paintings inlaid with the gemstone and antique dragon-shape jade is on display at an exhibition in Hanoi.

Collecting jade was a Hanoi tradition among royals and mandarins.
 
It was not just a sign of wealth but jade was also considered to balance feng shui and protects the owner from bad luck.

The exhibition is on at 93 Dinh Tien Hoang street from January 18 to February 18.

Popular folk festivals being celebrated across the country  

Popular annual village fairs ‘Vieng Phu’ in Kim Thai Commune of Vu Ban District and ‘Vieng Chua’ in Nam Giang Commune of Nam Truc District in the northern province of Nam Dinh will be open for public from the seventh until the eighth day of the first lunar month (Jan. 29-30).

Although the day temperatures have dropped to an average 14 -15 degrees Celsius, tens of thousands of people have flocked to both the village fairs.

The provincial authorities have dispatched more than 500 officials and police to maintain law and order and direct traffic.

Village fairs in Nam Dinh Province only take place once a year. ‘Vieng Phu’ sees an abundance of ornamental plants, agricultural implements and beef stock, while antiques are a popular item at the ‘Vieng Chua’ village fair.

Besides these, many more exciting festivals opened in the mountain villages of Son La, Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Ha Giang and Cao Bang provinces in the north-western region on January 29.

Mong ethnic people in Sapa District in Lao Cai Province welcomed the Lunar New Year with the ‘Gau Tao’ festival and prayed for favourable weather, good crops, prosperity and health.

Tay minority people also prayed for rain, bumper crops and happiness in the ‘Long Tong’ festival in Bao Thang District in Lao Cai Province.

Meanwhile, the ‘Yen Tu’ festival, one of the biggest cultural events of the Lunar New Year, will officially open in Quang Ninh Province on the 10th day of the first lunar month (February 1).

While on January 29, nearly 200 participants from 13 towns and communes took part in the annual traditional boat race on O Loan lagoon in An Cu Commune in Tuy An District in the central coastal province of Phu Yen.

On the same day, 25 teams comprising of more than 700 people from 17 wards and communes in Tuy Hoa City in Phu Yen Province competed in the 16th dragon boat race on Da Rang River.

The Ta Cu Mountain climbing competition attracted around 270 male and female athletes from 34 teams from Binh Phuoc, Binh Duong, Tay Ninh, Dong Nai, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Lam Dong and Ninh Thuan Provinces.

The course covered 6,300 metres for males and 5,300 metres for females, which included 2,300 steps to the Linh Son Truong Tho Pagoda.

After 40 minutes, Ta Thanh Xinh from Binh Thuan Province won in the men’s open division, while Nguyen Thi Nga from Binh Phuoc Province won the first prize in the women’s division. The female runner also received the title, “Queen of mountain climbing”.