Hue gathers regional musicians for folk music festival

Hue will host a folk music festival in May, gathering performance artists from a range of troupes from central Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue provinces.

According to the Thua Thien-Hue Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the festival will be held to promote unique forms of folk music and aid the preservation of traditional music, threatened by the popularity of modern art forms.

The festival will also serve as a platform for folk artists to exchange and train young artists, including vocalists and traditional musical instrument performers.

Shows at the festival will include solo and group performances, featuring the distinctive tunes and melodies of each locality.

In addition to folk art troupes, the festival will attract guest groups from the Hue club in HCM City, the Hue band in Voice of Viet Nam, and the Hue Music Academy.

Ca Hue, or Hue tunes, is a unique art form that was developed by feudal mandarin families during the Nguyen dynasty (1802-1945). It later spread, becoming a common form of folk music.

Children's book tells pigs' story

Veteran author Nguyen Nhat Anh's latest book for children will hit bookshops in HCM City tomorrow.

The 290-page book, Chuc Mot Ngay Tot Lanh (Have a Good Day), is brought to life with 40 illustrations by talented artist Do Hoang Tuong and tells the story of two little pigs, Lo Noi and Deo No, as they discover the world together. As in his previous books, Anh's latest offering highlights the beauty of friendship and love, with his usual flair and imagination.

More than 38,000 copies of the book have been printed by the city's Tre Publishing House, and already they have announced the reprint of another 15,000 copies.

The official book signing is at Le Van Tam Park on March 25, and is expected to attract hundreds of young and adult readers. Anh will then continue his travels, and will be introducing his new book to fans all over Viet Nam.

"Anh's books are popular with both children and adults because they are full of mythical beings and brave characters," said Nguyen Thi Ngoc Oanh, mother of two.

"I love reading Anh's books because he always listens to his readers and he knows what we think. I'm looking forward to reading Chuc Mot Ngay Tot Lanh and will be going to his book signing," said Phan Nguyen Binh, a 10-year-old boy from District 3.

The HCM City-based Anh began writing in 1984 and is known for his simple style and accurate depiction of children's minds. He is one of the city's only authors that writes for children, and has penned many contemporary classics, including Kinh Van Hoa (Kaleidoscope) and Thang Quy Nho (The Mischievous Boy), which have become favourites for thousands of children and teenagers around the country.

In 2007, Anh's Cho Xin Mot Ve Di Ve Tuoi Tho (Give Me a Ticket Back to Childhood) and Toi La Be To (I'm Be To) sold more than 20,000 copies in the first weeks of their release.

In 2010, the Viet Nam Writers Association nominated Cho Toi Xin Mot Ve Di Tuoi Tho, the story of an urban boy named Mui and his three friends, for the Southeast Asian Writers Award. It went on to win the award and was subsequently bought by the Thailand-based publisher, Nanmee Books, and it has since been translated into Thai.

His Co Gai Den Tu Hom Qua (The Girl Comes from Yesterday), which Tre published in 1995, remains one of the country's best-selling kids' books and Moscow University recently included it in the curriculum for Vietnamese-language students.

A trailer featuring Chuc Mot Ngay Tot Lanh is on the Tre's fanpage at www.facebook.com/nhaxuatban.tre.

My Woman photo contest celebrates Women's Day

The Past & Present photo contest, with the theme Nguoi Phu Nu Cua Toi (My Woman), will be held by BHD Star Cineplex to celebrate the International Women's Day (March 8).

Photos with loving moments between a man and woman will be featured on BHD Star Cineplex's Facebook Fanpage this month.

Photos can be submitted by clicking on "like" on the Facebook fanpage. Each man can send photos of himself and a woman in the same location with similar poses, but the photos must be taken at different times.

The woman can be the male's mother, girlfriend, sister or teacher. Captions should be submitted as well.

The contest has two phases: from March 1 to 15 and March 16 to 31.

The winner of each phase who receives the highest number of votes will be entitled to win a two-night voucher at the Sheraton Nha Trang Hotel & Spa.

Photo exhibit showcases traditional markets of Ha Noi

A photo exhibition featuring Ha Noi's markets, past and present, will be organised in downtown Ha Noi to celebrate International Women's Day on March 8.

Titled "Chuyen Cua Cho" (Story of Markets), the exhibition will showcase photos of traditional markets in the past in the city, which was once also called Ke Cho (site of markets).

Many traditional markets have disappeared as a result of urbanisation or have become modern trading centres like Mo and Hang Da markets.

There will also be space for a traditional market at the exhibition site, which will offer agricultural products from various localities in the country.

The exhibition will run at the Viet Nam Women Museum, 36 Ly Thuong Kiet Street, between March 6 and April 15.

Exhibition featuring female artists held in Hanoi

The Goethe Institute will be hosting an exhibition called “A Woman’s View” featuring female artists at the Art Vietnam Gallery in Hanoi on March 7-23.

This is an event celebrating International Women’s Day and will displays works of all mediums from Nguyen Thi Chau Giang, Nguyen Huu Tram Kha, Chinh Le, Phi Oanh, Dinh Thi Tham Poong, Vu Kim Thu and Maritta Nurmi.

The exhibition aims to create a space to celebrate and examine the essence of the female spirit, said curator Suzanne Lecht. The event will honor women for who they are, what they do, and how they view the world.

Takahashi Genichiro hosts lectures in Hanoi, HCMC

The Japan Foundation Center for Cultural Exchange in Vietnam is featuring Japanese author Takahashi Genishiro in series of lectures in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City from March 10-12.

Takahashi’s debut work “Sayonara, Gyangutachi” was published in 1982 and considered by critics to be an important literary masterpiece of postwar Japan. It was honored by the Gunzo Literary Award for First Novels and has been translated into many languages including English, Italian, Brazilian and Portuguese.

The Nha Nam Publishing Company translated the novel to Vietnamese in 2013 with financial support of the International Exchange Foundation of Japan.

The lectures will introduce Takahashi’s work and discuss contemporary literature.

This event is a series of cultural exchange activities in 2014 with the Japan Foundation Center for Cultural Exchange in Vietnam.

For more information, visit the foundation’s website at jpf.org.vn/en

In Hanoi:

Time: 14:00 – 16:00 Monday 10 March 2014

Venue: Theater hall 5th floor, VNU – University of Social Sciences and Humanities

 336 Nguyen Trai Street, Thanh Xuan District, Hanoi

Registration: The Japan Foundation Center for Cultural Exchange in Vietnam

 Tel: 04-39447419/ Email: jpfhanoi@jpf.org.vn

In HCMC:

Time: 14:00 – 16:00 Wednesday 12 March 2014

Venue: Room A001, University of Social Science & Humanities, HCMC

 10-12 Dinh Tien Hoang, District 1, HCMC

Hue Festival tickets on sale

The organisers of Hue Festival 2014 has just announced the ticket prices for various events which will start from April 12.

Tickets for the opening ceremony held at Ngo Mon Gate on April 12 cost VND300,000 (USD14) and the closing ceremony at Gia Hoi Park on April 20 at VND200,000. The Ao dai (traditional long dress) pageant on the nights of April 14 and 17 will be charged at VND300,000, while the art shows at Dai Noi (Hue Imperial Citadel) and An Dinh Palace have a same price of VND100,000.

Meanwhile, visitors will have to pay VND2 million to join the Dem Hoang Cung (Royal Night) with a banquet.

According to Ngo Hoa, Deputy chairman of Thua Thien-Hue City's People's Committee and head of the festival's organisation board, the number of dishes for this year's banquet may be less than last year but they will be the best dishes and most authentic royal banquets of the Nguyen Dynasty along with royal performances.

Meanwhile, the International Food Festival will also be held from April 15-19 at Phu Xuan Park. Phan Tien Dung, head of the local Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said over 100 booths will be set up, offering dishes from various countries such as Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Singapore, Japan, South Korea and China.

There will also be many free shows performed by domestic and international artists from 35 countries. The authorities of Hue City hope to attract 200,000 tourists to the festival which was created based on the theme “Cultural Heritage with Integration and Development”.

Hue City’s antique street

Antique pottery products are on sale along a 100-metre stretch of Tran Hung Dao street in Hue City, introducing a unique part of Hue’s cultural identity.

The antiques are evidence of cultural flows and the heyday of trading activities in the ancient capital of Hue. The roadside sale provides entertainment for people and antique collectors and helps visitors learn more about Hue.

The antiques have been very popular so far, and they are also affordable, ranging from tens to hundreds of thousands of Vietnam Dong.

“Foreign visitors come here to exchange and buy antiques to understand more about Vietnamese culture. In addition, many researchers also come to learn about the antiques”, said Nguyen Hung, who has sold antique products here for 11 years.

When asked about the low prices of the products, he added that sellers encounter many patrons who are very knowledgeable about antiques, so they never overcharge or sell counterfeit products.

There are many kinds of ancient ceramic items, coins and furniture that were used in common families and inside palaces during the Ly, Tran, Le, Nguyen and Cham dynasties (the 11th century to the 20th century). The items include combs, lamps, mugs, flower vases, pots, urns and pipes. They were salvaged by fishermen from the Huong riverbed and the bottom of the city’s other rivers.

“The fishermen themselves have ‘woken up’ dormant items in the riverbeds”, said Ho Tan Phan, a researcher and collector who owns thousands of antiques salvaged from the Huong River.

He also emphasised that, in addition to the tombs and architecture of feudal dynasties, the ancient products are considered cultural messengers, giving current and future generations insight into how their ancestors lived.

With his thorough understanding of this type of relic, Phan is eager to present compelling and scientific evidence on the development of Hue, the ancient capital.

Sellers, buyers and visitors to this stretch of road have created a distinctive cultural feature in Hue.