Three foreign bands join charity fundraiser

Three foreign bands and a DJ will be playing a mix of originals and covers in a HCMC concert tonight to raise funds for underprivileged children.

The performance at Cargo Bar in HCMC’s District 4 at 7:30 p.m. will feature The Secret Asians, James & The Van Der Beeks, The Lost Art and Overbite DJ’s.

Tickets cost VND150,000 (in advance) or VND200,000 (at door), inclusive of a free beer or a soft drink.

All proceeds will go directly to Hanoi to HCMC, or H2H, a team of 20 cyclists riding 2,000km between Vietnam’s two biggest cities over the month of April. They expect to raise US$40,000 for five charities to help unlucky kids in the country, including Saigon Children’s Charity, the Children’s Initiative, KOTO, ILA Community Network and Live and Give.

H2H, founded in 2009, is run by volunteers, with organizational support from beneficiary charities. Its members are mainly English teachers based in HCMC who wish to help those in need.

Tickets to the music performance are available at www.ticketbox.vn, Asian Kitchen at 185/22 Pham Ngu Lao Street in HCMC’s District 1 and Cargo Bar at 7 Nguyen Tat Thanh Street, District 4, HCMC.

Authentic French dinners to be served across the nation

Food lovers in Vietnam will have the chance to learn more about authentic French cuisine through French-style dinners offered at 17 restaurants across the country on March 19.

Seventeen cooks, including seven Vietnamese nationals, were selected to serve French-style dinners at their restaurants, French Ambassador to Vietnam Jean Noel Poirier said at a press briefing on March 11.

The meals are among 1,500 dinners that will be available at restaurants and French Embassies in 150 countries around the globe on March 19, he added.

The activity is part of the “Gout de France/Good France” project initiated by French Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development Laurent Fabius with the intent to honour French cuisine.-

A buffalo fighting festival begins tomorrow at the Phuc Tho town stadium in Ha Noi's Phuc Tho District.

The two-day festival, organised for the second time, will see 32 buffalos aged between eight and 15, which won the competition's first round on January 17-18, fight each other.

The strong buffalos have all been trained to fight.

In each bout, two of the animals are led into the arena and let loose to fight until one loses and flees.

Exciting and unique, buffalo fighting festivals attracts large numbers of locals and tourists.

Among Viet Nam's biggest festivals, buffalo fighting is associated with different legends, including worship of the Water God and praying for good weather and crops.

Buffaloes plays an important role in the country's wet-rice cultivation.

Nha Trang offers walk on seabed

A dive operator in Nha Trang Bay is offering a walk on the seabed for tourists to experience the beauty of the underwater world like marine plants and colourful corals and fish.

Holiday Diving Co., Ltd has been allowed to offer the seabed walk on a trial basis for 90 days by the People's Committee of Khanh Hoa Province where Nha Trang is situated.

One needs to wear a weighted helmet that supplies oxygen to walk in an area of about 50sq.m for 20 minutes.

Nha Trang Bay, one of Viet Nam's most beautiful, has pristine beaches and beautiful large and small islands.

Hoi An to develop carpentry village

The Hoi An City People's Committee has approved a plan to develop craft and tourism in Kim Bong carpentry village, which is famous for its skilled carpenters and beautiful carpentry products.

The city will set up groups that provide tourism information, tourist guides, and eatery and homestay services, and showcase the work of carpenters for tourists.

The city will also create new tours, including one that enables visitors to see Kim Bong artisans in action and allow homestay at the village.

Located in the downstream area of the Thu Bon River in Cam Kim Commune, Kim Bong's carpentry focuses on ancient architecture, wooden furniture, and shipbuilding.

It is considered a combination of the carpentry styles of the Cham, Chinese and Japanese.

Carpentry in the village began in the 15th century and developed in late 16th century before peaking in the 18th century, thanks to the growth of Hoi An Port.

In recent years the city People's Committee has developed infrastructure in the village, building the village gate, roads, a wharf and a product exhibition house to attract tourists.

Tribeca Film Festival honours Vietnamese director

The 2015 Tribeca Film Festival, featuring fresh international and American talent, has unveiled that Vietnamese-American director Viet Bao Nguyen has been chosen to be on its first half line-up.

“What I love most about making documentary films is approaching a new subject and project with a sense of discovery”, Bao Nguyen shared.

“Tribeca has been incredibly supportive of my filmmaking career and even helped guide it before I decided to become a filmmaker.”

The line-up includes 51 directors of title films chosen from 6223 entries from 31 countries.

Thirty feature film directors of this year's line-up are women — the highest percentage in the fest's history

As previously announced, it will open with the Saturday Night Live documentary Live from New York!

Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Festival bolsters Vietnam’s coffee reputation

The fifth Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Festival has wrapped up in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak, having successfully promoted the coffee trademark of Buon Ma Thuot and Vietnam in general.

The biennial event contributed to expanding and developing economic and trade partnership in coffee production, processing and export, said Y Dham Enuol, Standing Vice Chairman of the Dak Lak People’s Committee during the closing ceremony on March 12.

Outstanding businesses and farmers were honoured and the unique culture of Central Highlands ethnic minority groups was featured during the festival, he said.

Conferences reviewing the growth of the coffee sector also provided in-depth analysis on current realities of and prospects for the sector and suggested sustainable development strategies.

Various exhibitions were organised for the festival, highlighting the history of Buon Ma Thuot development and introducing high-quality coffee products to tens of thousands of visitors.

The four-day festival also created a playground for local farmers to host games and events, a highlight of which was an elephant race among ethnic minority mahouts.

With 203,000 hectares of coffee plants with an annual output of at least 450,000 tonnes of beans, Dak Lak is known as Vietnam’s coffee capital and features the famous Buon Ma Thuot brand.

In 2014, Vietnam produced over 1.37 million tonnes of coffee, of which Dak Lak contributed over 450,000 tonnes.

Vietnam is now the second largest coffee exporter in the world. The country shipped 1.73 million tonnes of coffee beans abroad in 2014, earning 3.62 billion USD in revenue.

The sixth Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Festival is scheduled to take place in 2017 in Buon Ma Thuot city.

Events organised to celebrate International Day of Happiness

Various activities will be held throughout the country next week to celebrate the International Day of Happiness on March 20.

Themed Love and Share, the events will include mass weddings for young couples in big cities and celebrations to thank elderly couples who have contributed to the country's development.

Various painting, photo exhibitions, music and poetry shows will be held alongside workshops on individual happiness, as well as happiness within the family, community, workplace and school.

The International Day of Happiness was established by the United Nations General Assembly on June 28, 2012.

Ancient lion and lion-like sculptures on show in Can Tho

An exhibition featuring ancient sculptures of lions and “nghe” – a fictional creature with lion-like head, long tail and dog-like body - opened in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho on March 12.

Nearly 60 exhibits sculpted out of stone, ceramic, terra cotta, wood and bronze dating back to the Ly, Tran, post-Le and Nguyen dynasties (from 10th to 19th century) are being put on show for the first time in the city, along with scientific documents on the position of the sacred animals in the Vietnamese culture.

The exhibition was earlier introduced to the public in Hanoi, central Da Nang city, and Ho Chi Minh City , according to Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Dang Thi Bich Lien.

The event will come to the Central Highland province of Dak Lak , north-western region, and other localities across the country.

Organised by the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum, the exhibition in Can Tho will run until March 23 at the Military Region 9 Museum in Ninh Kieu district.

HCM City organizes contest to find cultural symbol

Foreigners and locals of all ages are welcome to join a competition meant to find handicraft souvenirs that will become the symbol of Ho Chi Minh City’s culture.

The competition, called the “2015 Hoa Sen (Lotus) Awards,” which kicked off on March 11, is jointly organized by the Ho Chi Minh City Handicraft and Wood Industry Association (HAWA) and the local Department of Tourism.

A worker is seen dusting handicraft vases in this illustration photo.

The contest is intended to seek outstanding souvenir designs to cater to domestic and international tourists’ demand in shopping for mementoes expressive of the southern metropolis’s culture and tourism features.

The winning designs will be used in foreign relation activities and international cultural exchanges.

Those interested can submit up to five entries, whether they live in Vietnam or elsewhere.

Entries can be products crafted from wood, rattan, bamboo, plastic, composite, paper and lacquer in either isolation or in sets.

According to the organizers, they are poised to work with local experts on culture, history and architecture next month to reach consensus on interpretations of the city’s cultural identity.

Details agreed on by the authorities will be available at giaihoasen.blogger.com and hoasen.wordpress.com.      

Contestants can hand in their submissions from now to August 25 by sending them via post to 179 Nguyen Cu Trinh Street, District 1, or on HAWA’s website, www.hawa.com.vn.

The award presentation ceremony is scheduled to take place in September this year.

Vietnam-US concert conveys message of peace

Vietnamese and American artists have performed at a concert in Hanoi as part of celebrations of the 20th anniversary of normalized Vietnam-US diplomatic ties, sending a message of peace to young generations.

The March 10 concert drew the participation of Phillips Exeter Academy’s Concert Choir and Chamber Orchestra, and art troupes from the New Hampshire Academy of Performing Arts, and the Vietnam National Academy of Music.

Deputy Minister of Sport, Culture and Tourism Vuong Duy Bien highlighted the concert as a good opportunity for boosting cultural exchange and mutual understanding between the two nations.

In their congratulatory messages to the event, Principal of the Exeter Phillips Academy Thomas Hassan and New Hampshire Governor Maggie Hassan said the great musical event will help strengthen the friendship and bilateral diplomatic ties.

Music lovers would understand the message of peace from every piece of music, they noted.

Many music Western masterpieces were performed at the event, including those composed by famous musicians like Scott Joplin, Mozart, and Arcangelo Corelli.

Spring cultural event elevates Vietnam’s image

The Vietnam Embassy to Japan has hosted spring cultural event in Tokyo, attended by more than 150 delegates, including diplomats and their wives and Sachiei Doll Association representatives.

In his speech, Vietnam Ambassador to Japan Doan Xuan Hung laid emphasis on the role of women in strengthening friendship and solidarity, intensifying charity activities and poverty reduction in regional countries.

The event is designed to promote cross-cultural exchange with Asian-Pacific Ladies Friendship Society (ALFS) members and introduce Vietnamese land and people to international friends.

On the occasion, T’rung and Dan Bau (monochord) performances by Japanese and Vietnamese artists were held while visitors had the chance to taste Vietnamese traditional food.

ALFS is an organization under the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with the aim of boosting the exchange and friendship as a contribution to social welfare. 

VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP