Kha Trang to vie at Miss Eco Universe

Model Kha Trang

Duong Nguyen Kha Trang, the Vietnam Supermodel 2015 winner, has been selected to represent Vietnam to compete at Miss Eco Universe 2016 slated for March 27-April 15 in Egypt.

Born in the northern mountainous province of Ha Giang, the 24-year-old supermodel is 1.77m tall with body measurements of 85-59-88.

Previously, she also carried off the first-run up title at Miss Sport Vietnam 2012.

Exhibition to reveal beauty of Viet Nam's mountainous regions

A painting is on display at Tang's exhibition.

The exhibition Tho Cam II (Brocade II) featuring Doan Xuan Tang's paintings depicting the mystery of Viet Nam's mountainous region and its people will open its doors from March 4-26 at Vin Gallery in Thao Dien in HCM City's District 2.

Tang's paintings do not romanticise a region whose hardships are often hidden by the area's beauty.

His painting reminds viewers that cultures cannot be consumed, and inevitably elude our true understanding.

Physical appearance is just one facet of the complexity of the human condition.

The streaked lines in his works look like veils through which eyes peer dispassionately, recalling his rain-lashed first visit.

"I particularly love to paint eyes because they reflect the soul inside – happy, sad or suffering," Tang said.

"Beauty fades, but its impression is permanent."

Bookworm closing sale this weekend

After four years of operation, the Bookworm Too outlet in Nghi Tam will close at the end of February.

Sale of quality steel shelving, books, artworks and craft works will take place for three days from tomorrow, Friday (February 26-28).

Growing kindle use has meant that not enough second-hand books are available to keep two locations supplied.

Bookworm, will consolidate and continue to grow at 44 Chau Long Street as it has done since 2000.

Bookworm Too is at Lane 1/28, Nghi Tam Village, Tay Ho District.

Manzi to host cello night Echoes of the Spring

Manzi Art Space and Ha Noi Cellist Group will present Echoes of the Spring – a cello concert featuring pieces by Rolf Lovland, Harold Arlen, Astor Piazzolla, Claude Debussy on March 4.

The event will start at 8pm. Manzi Art Space is at 14 Phan Huy Ich Street. Surcharge: VND200,000/person.

Due to limited seating capacity, email manzihanoi@gmail.com before Wednesday, March 2 to reserve seats.

Ethnic artist's latest exhibition opens

One of Viet Nam's leading female artists, ethnic painter Dinh Thi Tham Poong will present her latest work at the exhibition The Destination Point of an Oblique Line which opens tomorrow at Art Vietnam Gallery.

The artist‘s childhood, born of an ethnic Muong father and white Thai mother in the remote northern region of Lai Chau, began in nature in close alignment with the seasons and the phases of the moon. This natural spirit is reflected in her art.

The artist's new works, comprised of many mediums, oil on canvas, ceramic fragments held by embroidery, natural bamboo baskets, are the result of the evolution of the artist's thinking about new ways of seeing.

Art Vietnam Gallery locates on 2nd floor, 24 Ly Quoc Su Street. Opening from Monday to Saturday, 10am-6pm until March 26.

Hall of Fame concert series kicks off

Hall of Fame, an electronic dance concert series, will present its first show called The New Area at Cargo Event Space tonight.

The event will feature young resident DJs M. Anh, Khang Chivas, Gin, Triple D and Minh Tri. It also includes singers Justa Tee and Soobin Hoang Son, rapper Big Daddy and Rymastic, and dancer Ngoc Thinh.

MCs Peanut and Callous will host the show.

The concert will begin at 6 pm at 7 Nguyen Tat Thanh Street in District 4. Tickets are VND180,000 when buying via www.ticketbox.vn. Tickets at the door are VND250,000.

New Zealand Wine and Food Festival at RMIT

The Wine and Food New Zealand 2016 festival will take place at RMIT University on March 12.

It will feature New Zealand wines and food from seven leading hotels in the city, and live music performances.

All proceeds from the event will go to Ba Chieu Home, a shelter for homeless and disadvantaged girls in HCM City, and the not-for-profit KOTO social enterprise offering holistic training and empowerment progammes.

The event will open from 4pm to 10pm at 702 Nguyen Van Linh Street in District 7.

Tickets priced at VND2 million are on sale at the New Zealand Consulate in District 1, American International School in District 2, and Pitchers Sports & Grill in District 7.

More information on the event can be found at www.facebook.com/wineandfoodnewzealandhcmc.

Hai Duong Province hosts clay breaking game festival

The 6th clay breaking festival, which was held at Con Son pagoda in the northern province of Hai Duong on Tuesday, attracted a large number of local people and visitors.

The festival brought together 250 players and referees, who were carefully selected from seven communes before the contest.

The game consists of teams which lay out slabs of wet clay weighing between 60kg to 80kg with a raised edge. The teams then mount the slabs on top of one crouching teammate who whirls and drops the slab, causing the edge to detach and straighten, with the winning team having the longest edge of at least 80cm.

Traditionally, the sound the clay makes when it hits the floor is also taken into account to pick the winning team.

After the competition, two teams of Minh Duc and An Duc communes won the first prizes, while the individual prizes went to Nguyen Van Thoang from Minh Duc Commune and Tran Dinh Phuong from An Duc Commune.

The clay smashing game is a unique and long-standing folk game taking place in the northern delta every year in spring. The farmers believe that the loud sound of the clay is a signal of a bumper crop.

German DJ to appear at The Observatory

Heart Beat, a Saigon-based underground music community, will hold an underground music and light show with Berlin's DJ Oliver Deutchsmann at The Observatory on March 11.

Deutschmann has gained a reputation over the last 15 years through his music of techno and house.

He has released numerous extended plays and released his debut album titled Out of the Dark in 2013. The artist is now touring North America, Asia and Europe.

The show will also feature resident DJs, including Oko and Chris Wolter. EROL, a Swedish member of Heart Beat, will give a visual arts performance during the show.

The show will start at 9pm at 5 Nguyen Tat Thanh Street in District 4. Admission is free until 11pm, and VND150,000 after 11pm.

Exhibition to reveal beauty of Viet Nam's mountainous regions

The exhibition Tho Cam II (Brocade II) featuring Doan Xuan Tang's paintings depicting the mystery of Viet Nam's mountainous region and its people will open its doors from March 4-26 at Vin Gallery in Thao Dien in HCM City's District 2.

Tang's paintings do not romanticise a region whose hardships are often hidden by the area's beauty.

His painting reminds viewers that cultures cannot be consumed, and inevitably elude our true understanding.

Physical appearance is just one facet of the complexity of the human condition.

The streaked lines in his works look like veils through which eyes peer dispassionately, recalling his rain-lashed first visit.

"I particularly love to paint eyes because they reflect the soul inside – happy, sad or suffering," Tang said.

"Beauty fades, but its impression is permanent."

Michelin star chef to cook for one week in Da Nang

The three-star Michelin chef Pierre Gagnaire will return to Da Nang for one exclusive week from February 29 till March 5 at the InterContinental Da Nang Sun Peninsula Resort – the World's Leading Luxury Resort.

Chef Pierre will prepare a week of excellent gastronomy for tourists at La Maison 1888, listed as one of the world's top 10 best new restaurants by CNN.

La Maison 1888 is nestled within the iconic 197-room resort, located 600 metres above sea level on the Son Tra Peninsula in the central city. It has been awarded the World's Leading Luxury Resort award for the second time after receiving the highest votes from travel professionals and high-end tourism consumers from around the world in 2014-15.

The Vietnam Airlines Corporation and the Jetstar Pacific Airlines Joint Stock Company will sponsor 1.1 billion VND (50,000 USD) for Hue Festival 2016 under an agreement signed in the central city on February 24.

Earlier, Hue city announced major sponsors for the festival, including the Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank), the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) and the MobiFone Telecommunications Corporation.

The festival, the ninth of its kind, will be held in Hue from Aril 29 to May 4, 2016 to honour the 710th anniversary of Thuan Hoa-Phu Xuan – Thua Thien-Hue.

Themed “Cultural heritage with integration and development”, the week-long event is expected to see the participation of hundreds of international art troupes, and performers from many countries around the world.

Deputy Chairman of Thua Thien-Hue provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Dung said the event will spotlight Vietnam’s cultural and art heritage as well as highlighting unique characteristics of different cultures in the world.

Art activities to be held during the event include exhibitions, street festivals, kite flying, calligraphy, an international trade fair, sports contests and cuisine.

200 publishers to join HCM City’s ninth Book Festival

Ho Chi Minh City’s ninth Book Festival will take place at Le Van Tam Park in District 1 from March 21 to 27, bringing together about 200 domestic and overseas publishers.

The biennial festival has become an iconic cultural event. Many publishers see it as an opportunity to learn more about readers’ interests.

This year it will feature more than 500 book booths alongside zones for exhibitions, seminars and talks, book launches and entertainment.

The event was organised by the city’s Department of Information and Communications; Saigon Cultural Products Corporation; the book store chain Fasaha; and Tre, Tong Hop and Van Hoa Van Nghe publishing houses.

The city’s eighth Book Festival was held between March 24 and 30 in 2014, displaying more than 200,000 books.

Ho Chi Minh opened its Book Street on Nguyen Van Binh Street, District 1 in January to promote reading.

Top Singapore bartenders show off skills in town

Basilico restaurant on the lobby level of the InterContinental Asiana Saigon Residences will host a performance of top eight Singaporean bartenders on February 25 night, from 7 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.

The audience will have a chance to see those bartenders creating their sophisticated cocktails and enjoy an authentic twist on Italian cuisine prepared by chef Eric Fettkeleave.

Tickets are priced at VND1.4 million++ (US$63++) per person, including free flow of cocktails and selection of two courses.

For reservations and more information, call (08) 3520 9099.

InterContinental Asiana Saigon Residences is located at the corner of Nguyen Du and Le Van Huu streets in District 1, HCMC.

Four top singers delight Hanoi music lovers

A special concert entitled ‘Because We Need Each Other’ took place at the Friendship Cultural Palace in Hanoi on February 24.

The concert, directed by musician Quoc Trung featured four leading Vietnamese singers: Thanh Lam, Hong Nhung, Tung Duong and Quang Dung.

The one night only concert consisted of two parts featuring popular songs such as Ngay Khong Mua (A Day without Rain), Ru Tinh (A Lullaby of Love), Hoi Tho Mua Xuan (The Breath of Spring), Xin Dung Goi Ten Nhau (Please Stop Calling Each Other’s Names), Nhin Nhung Mua Thu Di (Watching Autumns Leave), Chiec Khan Pieu (The Pieu Scarves), among others.

The audience was immersed in the voices, and rhythms of well-known Vietnamese songs that are both simple and full of emotion.

They were also impressed by the outstanding duet performances by Thanh Lam and Hong Nhung; Hong Nhung and Quang Dung; and Thanh Lam and Tung Duong.

Traditional instruments ring out at Phu Yen festival

Arts of trong doi, cong ba, chieng nam were awarded the national intangible culture heritage certificate at a ceremony in the central province of Phu Yen's Dong Xuan district yesterday.

Trong doi, cong ba, and chieng nam are double drums, triple gongs and quintuple chieng which are part of an orchestra in the spiritual and cultural life of Bahnar and Cham minority ethnic people at Xi Thoai Village, Xuan Lanh hamlet.

The merging of these musical instruments in melody, rhythm and body language of performers has created the unique art of performing. The sounds of the three instruments takes various forms, quick rhythm when greeting guests, slow and sensational rhythm when people exchange conversations, and mild rhythm as guests leave the house.

The arts of performing with the three instruments, lies in the list of 17 intangible culture heritages which have recently been added by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism into the national cultural heritage, also bears profound humanism values.

According to Xi Thoai village patriarch, La Chi Thai, the trio has won many rewards at cultural festivals across the nation."Through these instruments, one has learnt of the cultural beauty of Bahnar and Chams people," Thai said.

Deputy Chairman of Phu Yen People's Committee Phan Dinh Phung added that the sound of the three instruments not only to remind the newlyweds to lead a faithful life but also mourn the dead with sympathy.

"In order to preserve and uphold the unique value of these performing arts, the province is planning to collect and make musical notes of the songs, as well as organise classes for experienced artists to pass on this art to young people," Phung said.

First VN king honoured at festival

A festival to honour Kinh Duong Vuong, the first king of the Vietnamese people, has been launched in Dai Dong Commune in the northern province of Bac Ninh.

Kinh Duong Vuong founded the Hong Bang Dynasty more than 4,000 years ago.

The festival aims to educate the youth about paying tribute to ancestors, promote national traditions and solidarity among Vietnamese people. It is also expected to honour the cultural and traditional beauty of the province.

On the opening day of the festival, the National Archives Centre IV, State Records Management and Archives Department of Viet Nam presented a replica of a woodblock of Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945), which has some prints about Kinh Duong Vuong, to Bac Ninh's department of culture, sports and tourism and the local people's committee.

The presenting of the woodblock aims to preserve and promote the historical and cultural values of Kinh Duong Vuong temple and the royal tomb complex in the district.

Many traditional rituals and cultural activities will be held during the three-day festival from February 23 to 26, such as a palanquin procession, water puppet shows and a traditional sports competition.

Legend has it that Kinh Duong Vuong's son, Lac Long Quan, married Au Co who then gave birth to a pouch filled with 100 eggs. The eggs soon hatched and a hundred sons, believed to be the Vietnamese people's ancestors, were born.

Their eldest son was crowned king, who named the country Van Lang and established the capital in Phong Chau (today's Viet Tri City in the northern midland province of Phu Tho), beginning the reign of 18 Hung Kings.

The woodblocks represent an important part of the country's feudal history. During the Nguyen Dynasty, they were used to print information about social standards, articles on the lives and careers of the aristocracy, and historical events. They are original records of the time, making them very valuable.

VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/TT/TN/Dantri