Vietnamese guitarist defeats 200 to win Yale scholarship

Vietnamese guitarist Tran Tuan An has defeated some 200 international students to win a seat at the world's prestigious Yale School of Music.

An's father, Tran Quang Tuan, said he had applied for admission to a master's programme at 20 universities in the USA and was accepted by all of them. An enrolls in the Master of Music programme in guitar this fall because it offers the best choice.

As a student at North Park University's School of Music, Chicago, US, An became the 39th student to be honoured as a Student Laureate of the Lincoln Academy of Illinois in November 2013.

He also earned first prize in the 2013 Society of American Musicians Guitar Competition, as well as the Evanston Music Club 2013 Scholarship, along with other prizes in Viet Nam.

Now in its second century of service, the Yale School of Music enjoys a tradition of excellence that reflects its distinguished faculty and alumni. Each year, the school offers only two full tuition scholarships and fellowships.

Vietnamese artists to participate in charity event

More than 50 works of 40 international and 17 Filipino artists will be displayed at Galleria Duemila, Pasay City, in the Philippines on Saturday, April 5.

The proceeds from the exhibition, which is titled "Hayan International Fund Raising Art Exhibition", will fund My Shelter Foundation's Liter of Light Programme which aims to provide low-cost solar-powered light to damaged areas, give employment to the local people and teach "green living" skills and provide support to the local community.

The programme aims to aid the 27,000 victims of the Hayan storm, which struck last November, with a sum of US$9 per head.

Vietnamese artists who will participate in the exhibition include Trinh Tuan, Vu Pham Truong Minh, Hoang Duy Vang, Pham Huy Thong, Nguyen Ngoc Phuong, Nguyen Tran Cuong, Nguyen Xuan Anh and Bang Sy Truc.

Hue International Food Festival 2014 to open in mid-April

The Hue International Food Festival 2014 will be held at Phu Xuan park from April 15 - 19 April as part of activities to celebrate the Hue Festival 2014.

This event aims to honor and promote the unique, typical cuisine of Vietnam and boost the relationship and friendship between Vietnam and other countries across the world, the VNAT said.

The festival will see more than 100 booths, 20 of which are reserved for foreign countries. The focus of the festival is the 10 Vietnamese dishes recognised by the Asian Record Organization.

In addition, there will be many exciting activities to bring new experiences to visitors such as food exhibitions, beer festival, and bartenders’ performances.

The Hue International Food Festival 2014 is expected to be one of the important highlights of the Hue Festival 2014. Visitors will have a chance to explore and enjoy a lot of art and cultural programmes and taste Vietnam’s typical cuisines.

The event was co-organised by Thua Thien – Hue province’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism and the Thua Thien - Hue Hotel Association.

Bao Son Paradise to hold cultural fair

A series of activities to honour the country's tangible and intangible cultural values will be held at Bao Son Paradise from April 5 to 9.

The event aims to celebrate the Hung Kings' death anniversary, which falls on the third day of the third lunar month. The activities will include flag-hoisting, incense offering, handicraft exhibition, Vietnamese product fair, beauty contest and fund raising for underprivileged children.

The flag-hoisting ceremony will begin on the morning of April 5. The flag has five traditional Vietnamese colours of white, green, blue, red and yellow, symbolising metal, wood, water, fire and earth respectively.

The flag, measuring 18 metres by 18 metres, honours 18 generations of Hung Kings. It will be offered to the kings at the Thuong Temple today before being hoisted at the Bao Son Paradise.

The incense will be offered by a procession of 250 people who will pray for peace, prosperity and happiness.

An art show, to be held on April 9, will be broadcast live on Viet Nam Television.

Manga wins readers' choice prize

Japanese detective manga series Detective Conan written and illustrated by Gosho Aoyama won the golden prize for favourite book voted by readers across the country.

The manga, published in Viet Nam in 2000 by the Kim Dong Publishing House, received 7.18 per cent of total votes.

The biennial prize was given by the HCM City Book Distribution Corporation (FAHASA) to 10 favourite books in Viet Nam.

The silver prizes were awarded to Singaporean best-seller writer Adam Khoo's I Am Gifted, So Are You! and Japanese detective manga series Doraemon written and illustrated by Fujiko F. Fujio.

Dale Carnegie's famous book How to Win Friends and Influence People and Vietnamese best-seller author Nguyen Nhat Anh's novel Cho Toi Xin Mot Ve Di Tuoi Tho were awarded the bronze prizes.

Le Thi Thu Huyen, FAHASA's deputy general director, said the prizes reflected reading trends of Vietnamese who were paying more attention to books on living skills and entertaining books.

She said 60 per cent of voters were students, young people and children. The favourite books for teenagers were comics and novels.

More than 27,400 readers across the country voted for the books at www.fahasa.com and cast their ballots in boxes placed at FAHASA stores from November 20, 2013 to February 28.

In 2011, the year that the award was instituted, nearly 15,000 readers cast their votes.

Jewellery on show in Hanoi old quarter

A wide selection of jewellery is put on display at Kim Ngan temple, Hanoi’s Hang Bac Street as a gesture to honour skilful artisans and introduce the age-old craft to local and global visitors.

Among them were bronze carved paintings with exquisite patterns, decoration of handbags, tea sets, bowls and plates made of silver or bronze.

The jewellery craft in Hang Bac Street still thrives today.

On March 30, Chau Van singing was brought to the stage with a view to reviving the religious art form.

The four-day display will last until March 31.