HCM City bustling with year-end fashion shows

Nguyen Cong Tri - one of 100 well-known contemporary designers will open the Vietnam International Fashion Week 2014 with a performance featuring his latest designs on December 1.

The 6-day fashion week will present to fashionista 17 performances of global fashion brands, including Antonio Grimaldi of Italia; On Aura Tout Vu, Defined Moment, andAtelier Chardon Savard of France; ISSUE of Thailand; Frederick Lee from Singapore; Tsolo Munkh from Mongolia;Somarta of Japan and Song Zio of the South Korea; along with local brands by designers Nguyen Cong Tri, Hoang Hai, Adrian Anh Tuan, Le Thanh Hoa, Chung Thanh Phong, Hoang Minh Ha, Ly Giam Tien and Li Lam.

The show will also be taken place at the Gem Convention Centre in District 1 from December 1 to 6.

Co-hosted by FIDe Fashion Weeks and Multimedia Joint Stock Company, it is supported by the ACF and French fashion school Atelier Chardon Savard.

The closing ceremony of the event will be broadcast live on VTV3 channel at 8 p.m. on December 6.

Well-known fashion designer Do Manh Cuong will also introduce his 2014 Autumn-Winter collection, The Twins, at the Gem Convention Centre on November 25.

The collection showing outfits with the same concept for friends, colleagues and couples is inspired by the perfect resemblance of the twins.

Over 140 models, including selected twins and 70 Vietnamese catwalk models, such as Huyen Trang, Hoang Thuy, Le Thuy, Le Thanh Thao, Thuy Trang, Kha My Van, Tuyet Nhung,Lam Thu Hang,Mau Thanh Thuy, Minh Trieu, Oanh Di, Dieu Huyen, Vo Canh, Ky Han, Duong Mac Anh Quan,Truong My Nhan and Quang Hung will perform during event.

Much-awaited charity bazaar returns

The annual HIWC Charity Bazaar will take place on Sunday, from 10am to 3.30pm at UNIS, G9 Ciputra Tay Ho.

As many as 42 countries will present food while 35 charity organisations will showcase their causes and 41 commercial stands will offer a variety of beautiful items for sale.

There will be entertainment all day long, with song, dance and music for all. A special children's activity area will keep the children happy for hours.

All money raised at the event will go to support charities in Ha Noi. Last year, the event raised US$126,000.

Each ticket for adults will be priced at VND150,000 if purchased before November 23 or VND180,000 at the gate while each ticket for children aged three to 12 years will be VND50,000. Children under three years of age get free tickets.

Ha Noi restores dismantled ancient pagoda in Chuong My District

The 1,000-year-old Tram Gian Pagoda in Ha Noi's outlying Chuong My District has been restored to its near-original state, said local authorities.

In late 2012, much of the pagoda was dismantled by the pagoda managers for renovation but without permission from relevant authorities. The shock of the actions urged the city's Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism to call for an immediate cease of the activities in order to properly address the damage.

The two-year renovation project focused efforts on the pagoda's most prominent features like a shrine for the abbots, and a building housing a musical stone and drum.

The renovations adhered with national regulations covering relic repair.

During the process, the culture department organised various seminars to gather scientists, local authorities, pagoda managers, designers and contractors in order to guide and advise the project.

The project cost more than VND14.6 billion (US$695,000) and was implemented by the Institute of Relics Conservation.

City tour to explore more of Ha Noi

Friends of Vietnam Heritage (FVH) will host a city walk to visit unexplored parts of Ha Noi's Nha Tho area on Tuesday, November 25.

The walk will begin in front of St. Joseph's Cathedral and proceed to the southern part of the Old Quarter. Nha Tho is a popular street for shopping, but if visitors know some of its history and find the hidden place, it will be more fascinating for them. The two-and-a-half-hour tour will be conducted in Japanese.

Tickets cost VND70,000 each and there are slots for only eight people. Please contact Yuko Kanetaka at herijapan@yahoo.co.jp for more information and reservations.

Runners to race in name of local wildlife

Runners from Viet Nam and other countries will band together and race for Viet Nam's wildlife at the 2014 Song Hong Half-Marathon in Ha Noi on December 7.

The annual marathon is expected to attract hundreds of runners of all levels and abilities, with proceeds going to Education for Nature Viet Nam (ENV), a local organisation spearheading efforts to combat illegal hunting and trading of wildlife in Viet Nam.

As in previous years, runners may choose from various distances: 21km, 10km or 5km. A kids' fun run will likewise be included.

The exciting races will take place along the safe and tranquil streets of Ciputra Estate and the picturesque shores of West Lake.

Prospective participants in the half-marathon or any of the other distance races may register online at redriverrunners.dagoba.co/pages/register-for-hong-song-2014-2.

Christmas bazaar raises funds for charity

More than 55 vendors will present their latest products at the Christmas Bazaar, organised by the Saigon Charity Bazaar, at The Deck restaurant in District 2 on Saturday. Gifts and decorative ornaments will be on sale.

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

Heritage photo exhibition kicks off in Can Tho

As many as best 100 photos of 73 photographers from to the 2014 Vietnam Heritage Photo Awards contest are being showcased at an exhibition in the southern province of Can Tho running from November 19-25.

Themed the soul of Vietnam, the photos feature Vietnam’s beautiful landscapes and people’s daily life, traditional festivals, and tangible and intangible cultures.

Launched in July, the contest, the third of its kind, received 4,400 entries, including 2,975 single works and 254 collections of photos from 477 photographers, 138 more than the previous event.

Editor-in-chief of the Vietnam Heritage magazine Le Thanh Hai said the contest offers opportunities for both amateur and professional photographers to express their love and pride of the country by sharing moments and stories about Vietnam’s heritages.

The photos will be displayed in Khanh Hoa, Quang Nam, Quang Ninh, An Giang, Tien Giang and Ba Ria-Vung Tau provinces and Hanoi and Da Nang cities.

The award ceremony is set for Ho Chi Minh City for November 23 to mark 10th anniversary of the Vietnam Cultural Heritage Day.

Vietnam triumphs at world puppet festival

The performance “Nhip dieu que huong” (The melody of homelands) won the Grand Prix award at the Harmony World Puppet Carnival recently held in Thailand, announced the Vietnam Puppetry Theatre on November 18.

The performance, with the puppets made of rattans and bamboos, vividly reflects the daily life of Vietnamese farmers. It marked the first success of Vietnamese puppetry in the international arts arena.

Vietnam ’s traditional puppetry has a rich history that dates back about 1,000 years. It reflects the pure Vietnamese soul through music, costumes, customs, and farm work.

Taking place from November 1-10, the Harmony World Puppet Carnival Bangkok 2014 , one of the world’s most renowned puppet festivals, featured puppet performances of 160 troupes from all over the world.

Exhibition features Central Highlands wooden folk statues

An exhibition featuring wooden folk statues imbued with the cultural identities of the Central Highlands opened this morning at the Kon Tum provincial Museum.

The exhibition showcases 80 statues by 45 artisans from six ethnic minorities in the province including Ba Na, Gia Rai, Xo Dang, Gie Trieng, Brau and Ro Mam. The exhibits reflect the lively cultural, spiritual and religious life of the ethnic people.

The show contributes to preserving and promoting the traditional cultural values, especially the folk statue sculpture.

The event also provides an opportunity to promote the image of the land and people of Kon Tum province, while evoking national pride.

Over the past years, the province has held a wide variety of programmes and activities to preserve the folk art statues including a wooden statue carving competition in Kon Plong district and a carving composition class.

The wooden folk statue exhibition, which is held to mark Vietnam Cultural Heritage Day (November 23), runs through November 27.

Tourism programme highlights heritage sites in Viet Bac region

A ceremony was held in Thai Nguyen city in the northern province of Thai Nguyen on November 18 for the opening of 6th Through Viet Bac Heritage Sites Tourism Programme – Thai Nguyen 2014.

The tourism programme aims to introduce regional tourism potential, promote tourism activities, and attract investors to involve investment in tourism in six localities in northern Viet Bac region: Cao Bang, Bac Kan, Ha Giang, Tuyen Quang, Lang Son and Thai Nguyen.

The Viet Bac region used to be the base of the revolutionary forces in the fight against French colonialists. Besides numerous revolutionary relics related to the national liberation war, the region is also home to magnificent natural scenery and various ethnic minority communities with unique cultures.

At the opening ceremony, a special art programme themed ‘Through Viet Bac Heritage Sites’, with the participation of more than 500 actors from local arts groups, introduced the regions’ tourism attractions in the repertoire of music and dance imbued with diverse cultural characteristics.

Performances reproduced festivals and cultural identities of each locality in the region: a Dao wedding in Bac Kan; Tay people's Then ritual in Cao Bang; Panpipe festival of Hmong people in Ha Giang; Long Tong (Going to the Field) Festival in Lang Son; Cau Mua (wishing for a good crop) ritual of Cao Lan people in Tuyen Quang; and Tac xinh dancing of San Chay people in Thai Nguyen.

A wide range of activities, including a photo exhibition featuring cultural heritages of the region, a conference on preserving cultural heritages and developing Viet Bac's tourism, and a trade fair on tourism and the food of Thai Nguyen, in addition to folk art performances and folk games, are taking place during the three-day event.

The annual Viet Bac tourism programme is hosted on a rotating basis by regional localities. Ha Giang will be the next to host the event in 2015.

VND105 billion approved for Tu Duc Tomb restoration

The People’s Committee of Thua Thien-Hue Province has approved an allocation of VND105 billion (USD5 million) to restore the tomb of King Tu Duc.

The funds, partially from the state budget will go towards restoration of many of the architectural works within the complex, located in Hue.

At the end of 2013, the Hue Ancient Capital Preservation Centre completed the restoration of three of the pavilions namely Xung Khiem Ta, Du Khiem Ta and Khiem Cung Mon, at a cost of VND26 billion.

Tu Duc's Tomb is considered one of the most beautiful architectural works in Hue, but has suffered damage due to weather and war over the years.