Documentary to showcase Agent Orange legacy

Friends of Vietnam Heritage (FVH) will present the Viet Nam premiere of the documentary Lighter than Orange – The Legacy of Dioxin in Viet Nam tonight.

The documentary depicts the fate of just a few of the four million Vietnamese veterans who were victims of Agent Orange. The veterans speak about their exposure to the dioxin-based herbicide during the war and their lives afterwards.

Ligher than Orange won the Grand Prize Documentary Feature Award at the Socially Relevant Film Festival in New York, and the Gold Award at the Filmmakers World Festival in Jakarta in March.

The 72-minute movie will be screened in Vietnamese with English subtitles from 7.30pm. There will be a Q&A session afterwards with some of the films veterans and children from the Friendship Village.

Donation: VND200,000 (to Friendship Village). Limit: 90 viewers.

For reservations, contact: nguyenvu–nganhang@yahoo.com.

On Sunday, June 21, FVH will host a walking tour to discover the back alleys around Hang Da Market.

While walking through the small streets and alleys surrounding the market, attendees will learn about hidden pagodas, small communal houses dedicated to the patrons of craft guilds, narrow streets full of local life, Chinese merchant mansions and legends they haven't heard of before.

The English language tour will run from 9.30am to 12pm. Cost: VND70,000. Limit: 10 people. To register, contact: Loan at phuongloan2704@gmail.com.

Fete de la Musique appears as string quartet

Launched in 1982 by the French Ministry of Culture, Fete de la Musique is observed in more than 100 countries around the world, taking place on June 21, which is the day of the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere.

The day celebrates musical expression, allowing all styles to be showcased in a cheerful, supportive atmosphere.

The Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi will embrace this cultural celebration by presenting a string quartet performance at the hotel's French restaurant, Le Beaulieu, at 7pm. At the same time at Spices Garden restaurant, live Vietnamese folk music will charm guests.

At Le Club Bar, American songstress Kathryn Farmer will performs live jazz music from 8.45pm. To finish the evening off, Angelina will host an exclusive night with a French DJ from 9pm until late. Entrance to all the venues will be free on Saturday and Sunday.

Obey Radio comes to town

Obey Radio, a travelling group created by Obey Clothing, to spread love for street art and music, will perform in HCM City on June 20, as part of The Obey Radio Asia Tour 2015.

The show will feature DJs Free the Robots (born Chris Alfaro) and Roam Elsewhere, both from Los Angeles. They will be supported by local DJs Jase and Jin.

The event will take place from 10pm at The Observatory, 5 Nguyen Tat Thanh Street in District 4. Tickets are VND150,000, and VND100,000 for students.

Hardcore rock concert attracts 12 bands

One of Viet Nam's biggest heavy music concerts, Hardcore United 2: Burning Youth, will be held at the 3A Station on June 27, attracting 12 bands from all over Viet Nam.

The highlighted performers will be Knife Sticking Head, Razor Leaf, Elevator, Clockwork, Voluptuary and In Your Eyes. They will play hardcore punk, metal core, death metal and modern metal.

The event will attract local DJs and hip hop artists, as well as graffiti and street artists.

The show will take place from 12pm to 10pm. The venue is at 3A Ton Duc Thang Street in District 1.

Tickets cost VND195,000 in advance, and are available at Hoi Uc Cafe in Phu Nhuan District and SoHm Cafe in District 8. Tickets at the door are VND250,000.

Cultural night to cook up different dances

The Movement Kitchen, a night of cultural dance, will be launched at Saigon Ranger on June 25.

The event will open with a screening of documentary on dance, followed by performances of local and expatriate choreographers and dancers, including Jenny Luu, Tasha Annis, Do Hai Anh, Emily Navarra and Karel Flores.

They will present different genres of flamenco, Indian, contemporary, modern and salsa dance.

The show will open at 8.30pm at 5/7 Nguyen Sieu Street in District 1. Entrance fee is VND50,000.

Thanh Hoa drama festival to present 29 popular plays

About 19 troupes will participate in the annual national professional drama festival in the central province of Thanh Hoa from June 21 to July 6.

The troupes will perform 29 plays written by popular playwrights such as Xuan Duc and Chu Thom, and staged by noted directors such as Doan Hoang Giang, Le Hung and Anh Tu.

The play, entitled Duong Dua Trong Bong Toi (Race in the Dark), by playwright Nguyen Dang Chuong will be performed by the Police Drama Troupe and the Phu Tho Provincial Drama Troupe.

While the play has been widely performed by the Police Drama Troupe since 2012, it is being performed by the Phu Tho Troupe for just this festival.

"We chose the play as it refers to burning domestic issues such as corruption," said Nguyen Duy Phuong, director of Phu Tho Troupe.

HBSO performs excerpts from famous Broadway musicals

The HCM City Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera (HBSO) will present 17 excerpts from well-known Broadway musicals this Friday (June 19) at the Opera House.

The show, titled Excerpts from Famous Broadway Musicals, will feature renowned songs from Broadway musicals including Cats, Mamma Mia, Candide, Girl Crazy, The Sound of Music, 42nd Street, Company, Love Never Dies, West Side Story, Guys and Dolls and others.

The concert will take place under the baton of conductor Tran Nhat Minh, with performances by singers Nguyen Do Anh Tuan, Pham Duyen Huyen, Tran Duy Linh, Mer. A. Tran Hong Vy, ballet dancer Chloe Glemot, and HBSO choir and band.

Tickets, priced from VND80,000 for students to VND550,000, are available at the venue.

New book collection of rewritten Vietnamese fairytales released

A book collection on Vietnamese fairytales collected and rewritten by Nguyen Dong Chi, one of the country's most popular cultural researchers, has been released in HCM City.

The collection, Kho Tang Truyen Co Tich Viet Nam (The Treasure of Vietnamese Fairytales), includes five books and lively pictures by young artists of the Tre (Youth) Publishing House.

The works include 150 stories of friendship, love and dreams, with highlights of the country's history, culture and lifestyle.

More than 105,000 copies of each book have been printed by Tre, which signed a copyright deal with the representative of the late author to republish his books.

Chi was born in a traditional family in 1915 in Ha Tinh Province. He worked for dozens of newspapers, magazines, and institutes.

From 1977 to 1981, he was the director of the Institute of Han Nom Studies (Han Chinese and the ancient Vietnamese ideographic Nom script) in Ha Noi.

He published 26 books and research collections in different fields of history, folk literature and culture.

He spent nearly 25 years to collect, rewrite and translate 2,000 fairytales from Vietnamese and foreign works.

He died in 1984. In 1996, he was posthumously awarded the Ho Chi Minh Prize for literature category from the Government.

Summer book fair

Thousands of children living in rural districts of HCM City are taking part in the Summer Book Fair 2015, which opened yesterday by the city's Book Distribution Company (Fahasa) in co-operation with local authorities.

The five-day event displays 300,000 Vietnamese and foreign books and comics in different fields of literature, science and arts. Many products, including books and stationary products, are on sale at discounts of 17-50 per cent.

The fair includes seminars and contests to encourage reading among youth. Dozens of writers and cultural researchers are invited to give speeches and share their experience and love for writing and reading.