Streets and parks in HCM City will be alive with festivities in celebration of National Day which falls on September 2.

A special music and song programme at the Pink Lotus Stage located in 23/9 Park in District 1 will kick off the city-wide festivities this weekend.

Organised by the city's Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and traditional art troupes, the three-day event will open on Sunday night and include dozens of music and theatre performances.

Two exhibitions, one located at the Youth Cultural House on Pham Ngoc Thach Street and the other at the Ho Chi Minh Museum on Nguyen Tat Thanh Street, will feature photographs of the late President Ho Chi Minh and historical events during different periods of the country's revolutionary process. The showcases will run through September 5.

As in previous years, art performances will be organised at cultural houses in the rural districts of Cu Chi, Binh Chanh and Can Gio from August 30 to September 2.

Performed outdoors, these performances staged by young singers and dancers and veteran theatre artists are expected to draw thousands of families.

Children will be treated to puppet and circus performances on September 2 at 8pm at District 12's Cultural Centre.

Suoi Tien and Dam Sen parks are now preparing for their business season, which will attract several hundred thousand rural youth from southern provinces on the four-day holiday.

Ho Chi Minh Television (HTV) will screen Vietnamese movies from August 30 to September2. Films and documentaries featuring revolutionaries, directed by talents Hong Sen and Pham Khac, will be highlighted.

To attract young customers, shopping centers and supermarkets are offering promotional programmes.

Maximark is offering processed food from all three regions – the north, south and central Viet Nam. Dry foodstuff made from agricultural products from Bien Hoa, Nha Trang and Ben Tre are reportedly among the most sought-after.

The Co.opMart chain, meanwhile, offers domestically made products of cloth, shoes and accessories at prices from VND50,000 to VND200,000 (nearly US$2.2 - $10). These have been hot sellers, retailers say.

"The lead-up to the National Day holiday has been marked with increased consumer spending at supermarkets that offer Vietnamese-made products and quality services," said a resident of Binh Thanh District.

As Saigonese prefer to go out for dinner during the holiday, restaurants downtown have introduced different menus to meet varied demands of customers, focusing on traditional Vietnamese cuisine.

In HCM City's Binh Thanh District, the tourist park Binh Quoi will offer a buffet of popular dishes in South Viet Nam, which will attract large numbers of both local and foreign customers.

VNS/VNN