An art troupe from Japan and a delegation of Theravada Buddhists from Myanmar will join the annual Quan The Am (Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva) Festival in Ngu Hanh Son District on March 14-16.

According to the district’s Culture and Information Centre, the festival will include bài chòi (a card game in which players sit in a hut and play and sing at the same time), boat-racing on the Co Co River, a photo exhibition and calligraphy demonstration as well as folk games.

Artists from Japan will present calligraphy skills and photos of pagodas and other Buddhist artifacts.

A Buddhism lecture and meditation session will take place at the Da Pagoda in Su Van Hanh street, beside the Quan The Am Pagoda.   

The opening ceremony is scheduled for 7pm at Quan The Am Pagoda at the foot of the Kim Sơn Mountain on March 14.

As planned, the country’s first Buddhist Culture Museum will be opened at the Quan The Am Pagoda with an exhibition of over 500 antiques.

The museum, which covers over 500sq.m, will also have ancient documents, statues and sculptures on show.

The main festival, which falls on March 16 (the 19th of lunar February), will feature the procession of an image of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, and a prayer for a year of peace, prosperity and happiness for the nation.

It will also demonstrate stone sculptures of the 400-year-old Non Nuoc stone village – the National intangible heritage recognition – in Ngu Hanh Son (Marble Mountain) district.

A series of cultural activities including martial art performances, chess, a run for peace, a candle-lit flower release, drums and traditional dances will be held from morning to night during the 3-day festival.

The annual festival, which is one of the leading cultural events in the city each year, was recognised as one of 15 biggest cultural festivals in Viet Nam.

The festival draws around 10,000 residents and tourists each year. In 2014, the Thai Sangha delegation also joined the festival.

The festival will close with a gratitude ceremony on March 16. 

VNS