City bustling with fun activities for national holidays 

The city is being festively decorated for the holiday weekend and bustling with fun activities for the whole family. 

Many of the city entertainment venues are busy these days preparing exciting activities and entertainment programs in order to mark the National Reunification Day (April 30) and International Labor Day (May 1) more enjoyable for the city residents.

Concerts titled ‘Victory song” and “Bustling summer” will take place at the 23/9 (September 23) Park and the Youth Cultural House on May 1.

Well-known singers will be on stage, such as Ta Minh Tam, Dam Vinh Hung, Anh Bang, Thanh Thuy along with cai luong actor Trong Huu and cai luong actress Que Tran.

Dam Sen Cultural Park and Suoi Tien Tourist Area is set to lure visitors with musical and dance performances, comedies and puppetries as well as various other amusements. One of the highlights is a fireworks show at 9 pm in Dam Sen Park on April 30.

Drama theaters in Idecaf, 5B Vo Van Tan, Hoang Thai Thanh, Phu Nhuan and Superbowl will present drama plays to audiences.

Meanwhile cinemas expect to attract a great number of people with Hollywood blockbuster films such as Rio, Fighter, Big Momma's House 2, Thor, All’s well that end’s well, Source Code and some Vietnamese movies including Saigon Yo and Abolishment.

Many music shows will be held at Trong Dong and 126 stages from April 30 to May 2.

Ha Long Tourism Week 2011 kicks off

Various cultural and sports events are taking place in the northern province of Quang Ninh to mark the opening of the 2011 Ha Long Tourism Week.

The main activities included Ha Long Carnival, a light art performance on Ha Long Bay, a music and poetry night on Ha Long, a photograph exhibition, a cuisine festival, a beach volleyball tournament, and a tennis competition.

With the slogan “Ha Long Quang Ninh – a tropical paradise”, the 2011 Ha Long Tourism Week aimed to promote the image of Quang Ninh tourism and support of the vote for Ha Long Bay to be selected as one of the world’s seven natural wonders.

The event is expected to attract about 500,000 tourists, accounting for more than 8 percent of the total number of visitors to Ha Long for a year.

According to the organising board, hotels and guest houses in Ha Long have been fully booked.

Vietnamese Film Week opens in Laos

The Vietnamese Film Days kicked off in Vientiane, Laos on April 28 with the participation of leaders from the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture and Information, cinematography institutes from both countries, the Vietnamese Embassy and overseas Vietnamese and Laotians.

During the event, six feature and two documentary films will be screened to reflect Vietnamese people and nation in the process of national construction and international integration. The screenings are also in honour of the close friendship between Vietnam and Laos.

Films, such as Hai nguoi me (Two mothers), Vo chong A Phu (Couple of A Phu), Bao gio cho den thang 10 (When October comes) and Chuyen cua Pao (Pao’s story) are all dubbed in Laotian and they will be screened across the country.

The event aims to mark the success of the 9th Congress of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party, the Laos National Assembly election on April 30, the Vietnamese National Assembly election on May 22, the 36th anniversary of Vietnam’s National Reunification Day on April 30 as well as May Day.

Ta Man’s tiny museum a real gem

Tourists venturing into the heart of the Mekong Delta will come across an unusual mini museum that is only three meters wide and ten meters long.

It is located in Can Tho City close to Thot Not Bridge in Thot Not District. Around 300 meters after the bridge you turn left and find the Ta Man museum.

It comprises of many rare antiques such as a bronze Apsara statue of Angkor culture, a terracotta model from 13th century Cham culture and a seven-meter-high Linga statue made of granite with a genie eye from the 10th century.

There is also a Bodhisattva statue made of bronze which is 1.1 meters tall and weighs 25 kilograms, a stone mermaid and granite, stone, ceramic and bronze models of Hindu goddesses including Genesa, Harihana, and Heyavara from the 15th century.

The house is owned by Ta Man who embraces his profound passion for antiques by sticking with his collection instead of selling out to make money.

In the late seventies when miners found gold in Ba The Mountain region in An Giang Province and several imprinted artifacts of the Oc Eo Culture, Man decided to start collecting antiques. His collections are from many cultures and result from antique trading in Ba The port in An Giang.

He also has a rare collection of statues, axes, swords, knives and jewelry. Many of the pieces are carved with ancient Indian characters.

“I love antiques and want to live a life with ancient cultural values. That is why I don’t want to sell out,” said Ta Man.

Vietnamese actress returns from Hollywood sojourn

Vietnamese model and actress Ngo Thanh Van is back home after attending the premiere of the 3D “Kungfu Panda 2” in California, the US, where she met her idol, actress Angelina Jolie.

“On getting an invitation from MegaStar and DreamWorks Animation, I accepted immediately,” she says.

“I was happy to have a chance to meet and talk to Jack Black [who is the voice of the hero Po in the movie] and Angelina Jolie, someone I have always admired.”

She presented Black a red T-shirt with a yellow star representing the Vietnamese national flag and a conical hat with the message "To Jack Black with love from Vietnam."

She was taken in by Jack’s humor and informality, and he complimented her looks in her red ao dai.

“I was nervous about meeting Angelina Jolie and Jack Black. On seeing Angelina, I could understand why she is the most attractive woman on the planet and one of the most influential people.”

Van gave Jolie a book with pictures of beautiful Vietnamese landscapes as a gift for Pax Thien, her adopted son, to remember his roots.

“Angelina Jolie’s eyes sparkled as she received the book. She turned each page over and thanked me.”

“Pax will like it, I believe. He often finds and collects photos about Vietnam,” Jolie said.

Van also watched 65 minutes of the film with them and took a tour around DreamWorks studio.

“Kungfu Panda 2” is a sequel to the smash 2008 hit “Kungfu Panda” about a panda named Po who becomes a kungfu master.

The movie hits Vietnamese screens on June 1, International Children’s Day.