Free pronunciation classes for expats

The Vietnamese Language Studies Saigon will offer Vietnamese pronunciation classes for foreigners living in HCM City for free from February 26.

Sessions include meaningful practice with natural speaking. Classes will be held at two campuses in District 1 and District 7 every Wednesday of the second and fourth week of the month.

Expats can register at contact@vlstudies.com or call 0913373286/ 0934044669.

Cargo Bar hosts French hip-hop artist

French hip-hop beat maker demigod Onra, a master in mixing Eastern traditional music with electronic music, will stage a show at the District 4-based Cargo Bar on February 28.

His performance will be supported by resident DJs Jase, Knappe and Foniks, and visual artists Discocactus, DDL and Longx.

The show will start at 9 pm. Entrance is VND100,000.

On March 2, And So I Watch You From Afar, a four-piece rock band from Belfast, Northern Ireland, will play their first concert in Viet Nam at the bar as part of its Asian tour.

The band, consisting of Rory Friers and Niall Kennedy on guitar, Johnny Adger on bass and Chris Wee on drums, will present compositions from their latest album All Hail Bright Future released worldwide last March.

The performance will begin at 8pm. The bar is at 7 Nguyen Tat Thanh Street in District 4.

Local reporter grabs WPGA Pollux Awards prize

Photographer Tran Viet Van, a reporter from Lao Dong (Labour) daily newspaper, won third prize at the sixth international Pollux Awards , the largest annual journalism photo contest held by the Worldwide Gala Photography Awards ( WPGA) , its jury announced on February 26.

The photo taken by Van, titled “Hoi uc cuoc chien” (M emories of Battle ), took away the prize in the Editorial and Documentary category. The photo illustrates General Nguyen Duc Huy, former Acting Commander of the Military Region 2, scrutinising his set of medals at his private house.

Prize-winning photos will be exhibited at Spain’s Municipal Museum in September.

Van has previously won Pollux Awards prizes in 2010 and 2011.

Vietnamese food honoured at Asian Culinary Week

Traditional Vietnamese dishes are the major highlights of an Asian culinary week being held in Prague, the Czech Republic, from February 26 to March 4.

Dishes such as Hanoi’s spring rolls and the southern region’s noodles with beef are favourites with guests and visitors to the event.

The festival is to introduce the distinctive culinary art of a number of Asian nations, including Japan, China, the Republic of Korea and Vietnam.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Axel Hluchy, managing director of MAKRO Group of the Czech Republic, emphasized that MAKRO considers Asian businesses its key partners, and that it wants to improve the quality and diversify Asian food products in the Czech Republic.

MAKRO’s Communications Director Romana Nydrle stated the event offers a good chance for participating countries to introduce consumers to Asian specialities, and helps Asian restaurant chefs in the Czech Republic to provide fine flavours for local customers.

Through the event, MAKRO wants to promote high quality Asian food to native customers so that they can cook them at home, she said.

MAKRO Asia sales director Vo Van Nam said high quality “Made-in Vietnam” products, especially frozen shrimps and octopus, are one of local consumers’ top choices, whenever they are off the shelf.

He said MAKRO will invite Asian culinary experts to the MAKRO Trade Centre to deliver a speech on the culinary art and promote various types of food from Asia, including Vietnam.

International short-film festival returns

The global Future Short Film Festival will return to HCM City on March 1 with three films to be screened.

They include Sam French's Buzkashi Boys, an Afghan film telling the coming of age story of two best friends – a street urchin and a blacksmith's son – who dream of a better life. It has received an Oscar nomination.

The festival also features Finnish filmmaker Jenny Toivoniemi's The Date, the 2013 Sundance Film Festival's Short Film Jury Award, and Jakub Stozek's Out of Reach, a documentary following two Polish sisters' journey to find their mother.

The screening will also present a selection of sci-fi shorts from Cloud 9 Production's Project: Sci-Fi Competition Vietnam.

The event will begin at 6 pm at Saigon Outcast, 188/1 Nguyen Van Huong Street, in District 2.

An encore screening will be held on March 5 at the Observatory, corner of Le Lai and Ton That Tung streets, in District 1.

‘Vietnamese women through eyes of journalists’ contest ends

Journalists Ha Minh Tuan of Hanoi Moi Newspaper and Le Thu Hang from Vietnam Television won awards for the ‘Vietnamese Women Through Eyes of Journalists’ contest in Ho Chi Minh City on February 26.

Tuan received the story-of-the-year award for his work “Keeper of Traditional Dishes”. Hang received film-of-the-year award for the documentary themed “The Woman Builds Mam Ruoc Brand Name”.

The winners will have a chance to take part in the final round of the regional Journalist Award and ‘Women in Hospitality and Tourism in Asia’ conference taking place in Singapore on March 7. The winner will receive a cash prize of US $10,000 and be invited to the international women’s conference in London on December 2014.

The contest is part of the Empowering Women Through Learning Program launched in 2012 with the Women’s Empowerment Journalism Awards. It is organized by Diageo alcoholic beverage company.

It aims to reach women of all socio-economic profiles through training and skills development to empower 2 million women in 17 countries in Asia-Pacific and promote gender equality in the workplace, marketplace and community.

Viet Nam prepares to celebrate Day of Happiness

Many activities are being organised throughout Viet Nam to celebrate its first International Day of Happiness, which falls on March 20.

They will be gathered together under the theme Love and Sharing, which include workshops, training courses, contests, art, culture and sport activities.

The day was established by the United Nations General Assembly on June 28, 2012.

Southern folk-music festival site opens

A website featuring the first National Don Ca Tai Tu (Southern Folk Music) Festival 2014 was launched on Tuesday, according to the Bac Lieu Department of Information and Communications.

The website, festival/dcttquocgia.baclieu.gov.vn, features news, events and photos related to the festival.

Don Ca Tai Tu, which was developed in southern Viet Nam in the late 19th century, is a combination of traditional and contemporary music and was recognised as an Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO in December last year in Baku, Azerbaijan.

The first national festival will take place from April 20-25 in the southern province of Bac Lieu.

Hue Festival to feature 40 world art troupes

Organisers of the Hue Festival 2014, the bienial cultural event held in the former capital, Hue City, said the festival will feature 40 international art troupes starting from April 12.

According to the Hue Festival Centre, the organisers of the Hue festival, troupes from 31 countries will participate, including France, Brazil, Japan and Palestine. The ASEAN countries will also send art troupes to the event.

The eight-day event will also showcase 20 art troupes from different parts of the country.

The centre has also announced the price of tickets for shows to be held during the festival. Visitors will have to pay VND300,000 each to watch the opening ceremony and the ao dai fashion performance and VND200,000 each for the closing ceremony and the Night at the Royal Palace show. Entry to the other shows will cost about VND100,000.

The royal banquet for the Night at the Royal Palace show is the most expensive, with a price of VND2 million ($95) for a seat to eat a meal cooked according to the royal traditions. Groups of visitors may receive discounted tickets if they plan to watch more than one show.

Local residents have expressed their disappointment about the prices as not many will be able to afford to attend the shows.

Art show reflects on insentience

Visual artists Le Giang and Le Hoang Bich Phuong make existential queries with their latest installations and drawings in an exhibition called Above Under Sky.

The exhibition opens at Manzi Art Space on March 2.

Organisers say that through a series of simple but intriguing installations and drawings, Above Under Sky will transform the space around in ways that urge the audience to find out layers hidden behind every artwork.

Phuong veers slightly away from her previous works, which were deftly painted in subtle water-colour tones. This time, her creations take human shapes that are vague and colourless, reflecting the insentience of humankind.

Like Phuong's, Giang's work is also an exploration into the multiple layers of personal conflicts, seeking answers to the question: What is a perfect world?"

Above Under Sky will remain open from 6.30pm on Sunday to March 15 at the gallery on 14 Phan Huy Ich Street. Admission to the show, which is supported by the Prince Claus Fund for Culture & Development and the Cultural Development and Exchange Fund (CDEF) of the Danish Embassy, is free.

Ha Noi story telling event opens next month

Hanoi Slam, an event where people tell their stories live, without notes, returns with the first performance of the year on March 5.

Ten storytellers will share their life stories with the audience beginning 7.30pm at the Red River Tea Room on 25 Ven Ho Tay Road.

Hanoi Slam is a non-profit community group dedicated to creating a platform for people of all experience levels and abilities to share their storytelling prowess and passion with a willing audience. It will run four Slams in 2014.

Winners of the first three slams plus special guests from 2013 will be invited to take part in the Grand Slam held in June.

Entry costs VND100,000. All door proceeds will benefit the Humanitarian Services for Children of Viet Nam.

Interested storytellers can contact hanoistoryslam@gmail.com.

Source: SGGP/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT