Ethnology Museum receives TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence

TripAdvisor – the world's largest travel site – recently presented its prestigious Certificate of Excellence Award to the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology for hospitality excellence.

Only establishments that consistently achieve outstanding traveller reviews on TripAdvisor are conferred this accolade. Based on more than 1,500 reviews by travellers on the TripAdvisor website, the museum maintained an overall rating of four or higher, out of a possible five.

Museum director Vo Quang Trong on May 21 said the museum is honoured to have received the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence for the third consecutive year in a row.

Since early this year, the museum has welcomed an estimated 200,000 visitors, 40% of whom were international travellers.

Stunning photographs show off central region

One hundred and twenty-five photographs capturing sea, landscapes, cultural activities and people in central region provinces are on display for the public in Quang Binh Province.

The photographs were selected from among 1,240 entries submitted by 200 photographers, who are based in the provinces of Thua Thien-Hue, Quang Tri, Quang Binh, Ha Tinh, Nghe An and Thanh Hoa.

The Viet Nam Photographers Association had selected excellent photographs for the exhibition. The association also awarded one gold, two silver and three bronze prizes to photographers from Nghe An, Quang Binh and Thua Thien-Hue. Other five photographers received encouragement prizes as well.

This is an annual event held to highlight the contribution of local photographers towards cultural life in the region.

The exhibition opens for free to the public in Quang Binh Province's General Museum and will close on Sunday.

A “Month of Vietnamese Films in France” is all set to start at the Vietnamese Cultural Center and Pleiade - Cachan in Paris on May 21.

Films, cartoons, and documentaries that have won the Golden Lotus and Silver Lotus, such as Long Thanh Cam Gia Ca (Song of string instrument player in Thang Long), Than Tuong (Idol), Nhung Nguoi Viet Huyen Thoai (the Legend Makers), Xe Dap (Bicycle), Bo Vang (Golden Cow), Khoang Troi (Sky Space), and Co Mot Co Hoi Bi Bo Lo (There is a Missed Opportunity), will be screened at the event.

Canh Dieu Vang (Golden Kite) will be organized by the Vietnamese Cultural Center in France and the Vietnam Cinema Association.

Photo exhibition on Vietnam’s war and peace

World-renowned Japanese photographer Ishikawa Bunyo held an exhibition in Tokyo on May 21, exhibiting a photo collection themed “50 years of Vietnam – War and Peace”.

The photographer said that through these photos, his first goal is to help Japanese people learn more about serious consequences of past wars in Vietnam.

He said that wars in Vietnam along with others in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria have caused deaths of the elderly, women and children.

Mr Ishikawa said that the collection of 150 photos is set for display at the War Remnants Museum after the exhibition concludes.

As scheduled, the event is open from May 21 to June 3. A similar event is expected to be held in Osaka from July 3-16.

Capital book fair to feature foreign titles

Book lovers can view many recently released books in various fields and queue up for authors' autographs at a summer book fair opens from today in Ha Noi.

Nha Nam Culture and Communications Company has organised the book fair with the aim of creating a useful and attractive playground for book lovers, especially children during the summer holiday.

The highlight of the fair is the launch of many new books translated from foreign literature such as Sophie's Misfortunes by Countess De Segur (printed for the first time in 1858), The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1774) and Oksa Pollock: The Last Hope by Anne Plichota and Cendrine Wolf, the book is praised as Harry Potter in French.

Thomas Bass, author of Spy Z21, will launch his book on General Pham Xuan An and exchange with readers tomorrow evening.

The American writer was born in 1951. He set out to write the story of An's remarkable career for The New Yorker; fresh revelations arrived daily during their freewheeling conversations, which began in 1992.

An (1927-2006) was a brilliant journalist and an even better spy. He ranks as one of the pre-eminent spies of the twentieth century.

The event also features many newly published books of renowned Vietnamese authors who will present their books and sign for readers during the book fair.

Critics and writers will take part in a workshop on a collection of classic literary books titled Danh Tac Viet Nam (Vietnamese Famous Works), which has been republished recently.

Visitors will have the opportunity to buy books at discounted price. Vouchers and other promotions will be available.

The book fair at the same time will entertain readers and visitors through activities such as games for children, lucky draw and workshops on how to take care of children and understand them.

The book fair will run until Sunday at the Pupils and Students' Cultural House, 37 Tran Binh Trong Street.

On the occasion, Nha Nam Company also co-organises a book talk on Patrick Modiano at L'espace, 24 Trang Tien Street, tomorrow, as two novels of the Italian author have been translated into Vietnamese.

Another book talk and presentation will take place at 7.30pm, tomorrow, at Manzi Art Space, 14 Phan Huy Ich Street, featuring John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, an English writer, best known in Viet Nam as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

The Very Small Hats to perform at Tapas Bar

THBC Spanish Tapas Bar will host a performance on Saturday featuring The Very Small Hats – a group of musicians who will grace the Ha Noi music scene for a short while before some of the members leave the city next month.

Hailed from all corners of the globe, the group is possibly the oddest combination of humans you'd care to meet. Their music is strange enough to bring a grin to audience's faces and a smile to their hearts.

Their performance will start at 8pm at 44 Lane 31 Xuan Dieu Street. Entrance fee: VND50,000.

Ha Noi to host groundbreaking oboe concert

The first ever concert in Ha Noi featuring solely oboe music will be held at Manzi Art Space on Sunday night.

Titled Keri and Friends, the show will feature Dr. Keri E. McCarthy from the US and her oboist friends in Ha Noi from the Viet Nam National Academy of Music, the Viet Nam National Symphony Orchestra and the Viet Nam National Opera Ballet.

McCarthy works as the Associate Professor of Oboe and Music History at Washington State University. She also performs as a co-principle oboist of the Washington-Idaho Symphony and in the Solstice Wind Quintet. In 2008, she completed a solo tour of Southeast Asia, premiering works by composers from Viet Nam, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia.

The concert will start at 8pm at 14 Phan Huy Ich Street. Tickets on the door VND150,000, or pre-register at manzihanoi@gmail.com before 8pm tomorrow.

Walk to discover capital's herbal treasures

Friends of Vietnam Heritage will host an English-speaking walk on Sunday to discover Lan Ong Street, which is well-known for herbal medicine. The walk will also tour some nearby streets with notable architecture and religious buildings along the way, including Cha Ca Street with its 100-year-old famous charcoal grilled fish restaurant. To join, contact Loan at phuongloan2704@gmail.com.

Another city walk to visit the History Museum will be held next Wednesday, May 28. The Japanese-speaking tour will introduce Vietnamese history from the foundation of the nation to the Declaration of Independence in 1945. Historical kings and heroes will also be mentioned. To join, contact Chiami Mizoguchi herijapan@yahoo.co.jp.

Both walks will start at 9.30am. Cost: VND70,000.

Star French guitarist comes to city

Gabriel Bianco, one of the most active French guitarists of his generation, will perform original works and transcriptions covering all periods of classical music at a concert at the Institute of Cultural Exchange with France today.

He has won prestigious international competitions in Austria in 2006, the US, in 2008, and Spain in 2011. He has performed all over the world, including at the Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow, Central Conservatory of Beijing, and Herbst Theatre in San Francisco.

The show will start at 8pm at 28 Le Thanh Ton Street, and tickets costing VND100,000 are available at the venue.

Spring bazaar at The Deck, District 2

Over 45 first-time vendors will bring their latest collection to a "Spring Bazaar" organised by the Saigon Charity Bazaar at The Deck restaurant in District 2 on Saturday.

It will feature a variety of products, especially gifts for farewells and teachers.

Money raised from the sales and sponsors will go to Heart Beat Vietnam to fund heart surgeries for disadvantaged children. It will be open from 10am to 4pm at 38 Nguyen U Di Street.

Q4 Bar to host urban hip-hop event

Saigon Urban Night, HCM City's biggest hip-hop event, will be held at Q4 Bar on Saturday.

The event will feature skateboard, break-dance, and DJ competitions, and charity mini-bike races.

The judges will include famous local artists like choreographer Vietmax and dance groups UDG Crew, DJ Brnuts, and Kenji.

There will be spaces for graffiti, dance and motorbike shows, and performances by rapper Suboi and DJs Jin and Karik.

The event will begin at 2pm. The bar is at 7 Nguyen Tat Thanh Street, District 4.

Old photos on display in Ha Noi

As many as 300 photographs taken between 1895 and 1896 by Indochina Governor Armand Rousseau are on display in downtown Ha Noi.

The photographs were taken during the author's mission to Indochina and cover images of daily life in various localities throughout Viet Nam, including Ha Noi, Ha Long, Phan Thiet, Sai Gon and Tay Ninh.

Prof Phan Huy Le, chairman of Viet Nam Historians Association, noted that the collection was a valuable historical source of Viet Nam at the end of the nineteenth century alongside certain art values.

"For example, we have a lot of photographs of Nam Giao worshipping ceremony," he noted, "But in these photographs, we can clearly see how people dressed and conducted the ceremony in 1895-96."

At the opening ceremony held on Tuesday, a family member of the governor handed the collection to the National Library as a gift. The exhibition at the library, 31 Trang Thi Street, will close tomorrow.

HCM City opens ao dai exhibition

A collection of 500 ao dai (Vietnamese women traditional tunic) is part of an exhibition that opened on Tuesday at the Ao Dai Museum owned by designer Si Hoang.

The event, held to celebrate International Museum Day (May 18), features ao dai dating back to 1930.

They include ao dai owned by Nguyen Thi Dinh, the first woman major general to serve in the Viet Nam People's Army, former deputy president Nguyen Thi Binh and HCM City's well-known cai luong (reformed opera) artists including Kim Cuong and Bach Tuyet.

The collection also includes the wedding ao dai presented to the museum by Ton Nu Thi Ninh, former ambassador of Viet Nam to the EU. The dress was worn by Ninh's mother-in-law, and then by Ninh and her daughter-in-law.

The designer, a former art lecturer at the HCM City University of Architecture, said the exhibition would help young people learn more about Vietnamese culture.

The exhibition at 206/19/30 Long Thuan Street in District 9 will close at the end of the month.

Celebration marks Hoi An’s world cultural heritage status

A wide range of activities are taking place in the central province of Quang Nam from May 20-26 to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Hoi An Ancient Town being recognised as a World Cultural Heritage site.

They include a workshop to review Cu Lao Cham Biosphere Reserve’s operation during the last five years and the launching of Cu Lao Cham tourism site.

Traditional games hailing from fishing villages in the locality have also been featured in a festival themed “Fishermen and Cu Lao Cham sea and islands”.

On the occasion, a tour to discover Yen cave and Bai Huong fishing village in Cu Lao Cham were also organised.

Truong Van Bay, Hoi An City's People's Committee Vice Chairman, said this is a good opportunity to seek effective measures to promote the conservation and development of Hoi An’s heritage values, thus setting forth the direction of the city’s socio-economic development in the coming time.

Hoi An ancient town was recognised as a World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO on December 4, 1999, and presented four awards in heritage management, protection and promotion. In May 2009, the Cu Lao Cham islands’ ecosystem was officially added to the list of the World’s Biosphere Reserves.

In 2013, Hoi An was ranked first in the world’s top 10 favourite cities by Wanderlust, a well-known British tourism magazine. It beat Cusco city in Peru, Kyoto in Japan, Copenhagen in Denmark, Italy’s Venice, and even New York and San Francisco in the US.

Temple festival opens in Mekong Delta

The Ba Chua Xu Temple Festival opened in An Giang Province’s Chau Doc town May 21.

The biggest folk festival in the Mekong Delta, held annually from the 23rd of the fourth lunar month, will see a parade of the deity Ba Chua, known as Lady of the Realm, a washing rite, kylin and dragon dances, traditional music performances, a boat race, and more.

Pilgrims flock to the temple to touch the Lady of the Realm and seek her protection and benediction.

The Ba Chua Xu Temple Festival was recognized as a national event in 2002.

The temple at the foot of Sam Mountain is listed as a national relic site.

The festival will go on until May 23.

German author’s book and autography to be presented

The Goethe Institute will host a presentation on the book Mein Leben and biography of the German-Jewish intellectual and critic Marcel Reich-Ranicki at 6 p.m. on Thursday.

Born in 1920 to Polish Jewish parents, the writer spent his youth in Berlin until the Nazis came to power. In 1938 he was deported with his family back to Poland. After the war, Reich-Ranicki settled in Poland and joined the communist party, for which he served as an intelligence agent. He then spent two years in London at the Polish embassy, during which he fell out with the communist party.

In 1958, he decided to return to Germany and his rise was meteoric to work as a book reviewer and then on to national celebrity as the Culture Czar in the influential German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. He has been described as ‘the Pope’ of German letters. As well as being a remarkable life, this book is a love letter to literature.

The book will be presented by Le Quang and Kieu Van in Vietnamese with a summary translated into German. The book is available at a discount price after the presentation. The Goethe Institute is located at 56-58 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street in Hanoi.

German author to exchange with Vietnamese readers

German writer Katharina Hagena, the author of the novel The Taste of Apple Seeds, will read her novel and exchange with readers at Hanoi Goethe Institute at 6 p.m. on Saturday.

Then the German movie of the same title will be screened with Vietnamese subtitles.

In Germany, this book was a great success and it has been translated into many languages and filmed. Hagena’s family novel follows women of three generations about remembering and forgetting in a moving, humorous and wise way.

The writer will also attend the conference “Female European Authors: The Love for Literature and Life” at L’Espace, 24 Trang Tien Street, Hanoi on Friday. French literature specialist Le Hong Sam and French novelist Nuage Rose will analyze works by major French female authors in the 20th century such as Colette, Yourcenar, Duras, and some other contemporary writers whose books have been translated into Vietnamese and well-known in Vietnam.

Hagena, UK-based poet Aoife Mannix and Polish author Magdalena Witkiewicz will join a discussion on representation of female voices in European contemporary literature.

Hagena was born in Karlsruhe in 1967. From 1986 to 1992, she studied Anglistics and Germanistics. She did a doctor’s degree in James Joyce’ “Ulysses” and lectured literature at several universities in Ireland and Germany.

Her work Der Geschmack von Apfelkernen was translated to 25 languages and adapted into a film in 2013 which starred Hannah Herzsprung and Friedrich Mucke. On May 21, she is a freelance author and lives with her family in Hamburg.

Admission is free. Goethe Institute is located at 56-58 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, Hanoi.

Saigon Summer Ball back to town

The sixth annual Saigon Summer Ball by Saigon Children’s Charity will take place at 7 p.m. on June 7, featuring fine dining, live entertainment, dancing, champagne, wines, and live and silent auction.

Held at the five-star InterContinental Asiana Saigon Hotel, the function will be turned into a romantic and classical ball to celebrate midsummer and to escape the noise and haste for a few hours.

Saigon Summer Ball welcomes people from the international and Vietnamese social and business world.

Tickets are priced at VND3.3 million each. For reservation, contact organizers at saigonsummerball@saigonchildren.com or call them on (08) 3930 3502.

The InterContinental Saigon Hotel is located at the corner of Le Duan Boulevard and Hai Ba Truong Street, District 1, HCMC.

British Council runs fashion/design award

British Council Vietnam has called for Vietnamese designers to compete at this year’s Young Creative Entrepreneur Award.

Its purposes are to honor and seek talents without age limitation who have been running fashion/design companies for at least two years, have potentials in trading business and be able to promote the development of fashion in Vietnam in the future. Candidates are required to have good English skills equivalent to an IELTS score of 6.0.

They have to attend an interview with a judging panel for 15 minutes and a presentation for 20 minutes, all in English. The content is related to local design and fashion sectors and candidates’ achievements.

The winner will be awarded a trip to London from September 10 to 17 that coincides with the London Fashion Week and London Design Festival. He/she will join in activities to learn more about the creative industry in the UK and business meetings to establish connections with other awards winners from other countries and international partners.

The winner and the first runner-up will respectively receive a Macbook Air and an iPad Air.

For more details, visit www.britishcouncil.vn.