Students showcase recycled designs

Designs constructed from recycled materials by Ha Noi high school students will be displayed at a fashion show entitled Greenista.

The students will present their designs, made from nylon, paper and plastic bottles, with an aim of raising awareness about protecting the environment and using recycled materials.

Visitors will also enjoy music performed by student bands from the Ha Noi-Amsterdam, Nguyen Tat Thanh and Foreign Language Specialised schools.

The show will take place on Saturday night at the Ha Noi National University, 144 Xuan Thuy Street, Ha Noi.

Hanoi to host Vietnam-RoK culture, food festival

The Vietnam-RoK culture, food festival is scheduled to take place at My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi on November 28-29 as an activity to mark the 23rd anniversary of Vietnam-RoK diplomatic ties.

Guests at the event will have a chance to enjoy Korean and Vietnamese dishes prepared by Korean restaurants and the Vietnam-RoK Family Association. They will also be trained to make Kim Chi (pickled vegetables) and take part in special competitions.

A wide range of cultural activities such as film shows, fashion shows and art performances will also be held on the occasion.

Last year’s festival took place at Calidas Hotel in Keangnam Hanoi Landmark Tower.

Veteran teachers featured in book

A book on the life of veteran teachers written by associate professor and lecturer Tran Huu Ta, former deputy head of the HCM City Pedagogical University's Literature Faculty, has been released to celebrate Viet Nam Teachers' Day on November 20.

The 324-page book, Tu Buc Giang Den Van Dan – Chan Dung 25 Nguoi Thay (From Training to Writing - Portraits of 25 Veteran Teachers), features the life and career of 25 veteran teachers who have played a role in the country's education and training.

The teachers are some of the country's leading authors, historical and cultural researchers, including Dao Duy Anh, Vu Dinh Hoe, Tran Van Giau, Gian Chi and Nguyen Dinh Dau.

The book was collected and compiled by Ta, an author, literary critic and cultural researcher, who has taught Vietnamese literature at universities.

To complete his latest book, Ta spent nearly 10 years on writing.

Printed by the Tre (Youth) Publishing House, the book is valuable for literary and historical lecturers and researchers, and students.

Ta graduated in literature from the Ha Noi Pedagogical University (HPU) in 1959. He was the principal of the Son Tay Pedagogical College before returning to work for the HPU in 1965.

In 1985, he moved to HCM City and began working for the HCM City Pedagogical University, where he continues to work.

He has written and compiled several books and documentaries on literary criticism and cultural research.

His works include a collection of two books titled Van Hoc Dan Gian (Vietnamese Folk Literature), both issued by the Ha Noi Education Publishing House in 1999.

Two-artist exhibition debuts at Galerie Quynh

Galerie Quynh will present "1972-2015: Works by Hoang Duong Cam and Trong Gia Nguyen" starting from today.

The two-artist exhibition contends with issues of movement, displacement, refuge and migration, according to a gallery press release.

While Cam's paintings reference Viet Nam in the period around 1972, Nguyen's sculptures superimpose an uneasy American Dream over the Saigon landscape as his recent relocation to HCM City from New York City re-shapes personal notions of home and domestic space, the press release said.

Cam (born in 1974, Ha Noi) is one of Viet Nam's most daring conceptual artists. He completed his studies at the Ha Noi University of Fine Arts in 1996 and has participated in numerous exhibitions and biennales in Asia, North America and Europe.

Nguyen (born in 1971, HCM City) is a multi-disciplinary artist known internationally for his diverse body of works that often examines structures of power in their myriad forms.

The one-month exhibition takes place at Galerie Quynh, Level 2, 151/3 Dong Khoi Street, District 1, from 10am to 7pm from Tuesday to Saturday.

Teacher painting exhibition to celebrate Teachers Day

Hue City's Department of Education and Training held an exhibition to display works created by art teachers at the Hue cultural museum on Tuesday.

The exhibition aims to celebrate the Vietnamese Teachers Day tomorrow.

More than 90 works by 80 teachers from many primary and secondary schools in Hue City are shown.

The works were created from rich materials such as acrylic, oil colours, silk, wool and coloured powder. They feature all of the social issues from the school education environment: love, family, and the human condition.

Forty-one works were selected for awards including three A prizes, five B prizes, nine C prizes and 24 consolation prizes.

The exhibition runs from November 17 to 22 at 25 Le Loi Street.

New water puppet stage opens at Museum of Ethnology

A new water puppet stage will open at the Museum of Ethnology, followed by a performance by the Thanh Hai troupe from the northern province of Hai Duong.

In recent years, the water puppet show held at the museum on weekends (four shows a day) has attracted many tourists, including foreigners.

They come to enjoy performances by famous troupes from Ha Noi, Hai Duong, Thai Binh and Nam Dinh provinces.

The new stage was built with an aim of better serving tourists.

The event will take place at 4pm tomorrow afternoon.

Dutch Jaap Blonk performs at CAMA ATK

Avant-garde Dutch musician Jaap Blonk will give a solo performance at CAMA ATK together with a workshop on being a sound artist, tonight.

A self-taught sound artist and visual/stage performer, Blonk studied physics, mathematics and musicology, and it's the amalgamation of these studies that have influenced his craft. His compositions and performances are examples of sound poetry, making use of words and phonetic snippets as well as clicks, hisses and other vocal manipulations.

The event will start with a workshop and will be followed by a performance.

Doors are at 8pm. CAMA ATK is at 73 Mai Hac De Street.

Charity fundrasing fashion show for children

The Rambutan Fashion Show presenting the latest collection of American teenage designer Zeke Edwards will be held tomorrow at Art Viet Nam Gallery.

Edwards, who currently is living in Ha Noi with his parents, unveiled his debut collection in 2013, when he was 13 years old. Since then, he has introduced annually his fashion creations, which are for youngsters. This year's collection focuses on sophistication and elegance while incorporating current trends to create exciting eveningwear looks.

The fashion show also is a charity fund-raising event for the "My Sweet Dream" fund, which aims to support children living with HIV/AIDS at the Ba Vi Orphanage. The fund is founded and managed by Safe Living – an evolving company with a global development vision and locally customised solutions.

The free-entry event will start at 6.30pm. Art Viet Nam Gallery is at 24 Ly Quoc Su Street.

Berlin music producer Offermann returns

Berlin-based music producer and DJ Oskar Offermann, owner of the White Record label & Rimini, will mark his return to HCM City at The Observatory on November 20.

Offermann's music focuses on disco, house and techno, which helped him climb the deep house charts of many stores from 2010. His reputation then grew all over Europe.

Resident DJ Kin will support Offermann at the event, which will start from 10pm.

The venue is at 5 Nguyen Tat Thanh Street in District 4. Entrance is free before 11pm and VND150,000 after 11pm.

Madonna, Bruno Mars covers at Hard Rock Cafe

Hard Rock Cafe Vietnam will host a music show "Madonna and Bruno Mars Tribute Night" on November 27.

The show will feature famous songs of pop queen Madonna and international pop sensation Bruno Mars, which will be covered by the six-member ID Talent band of Indonesia.

The event will start from 9pm at 39 Le Duan Street in District 1. Entrance is free.

SE Asian visual artists meet for creative session

Kaleidosoup, the biggest international meeting of video jockeys (VJs) and visual performers in Southeast Asia, will take place at Cargo Event Space on November 27-28.

Visual performers from Viet Nam and Southeast Asia will gather at the event to share tricks, solutions, insights, projects and knowledge about the art.

They will work with music producers to show audio and visual performances.

The event will open at 1pm. The venue is at 7 Nguyen Tat Thanh Street in District 1.

More information on the event can be found at flxer.net/LAV/events/kaleidosoup/.

German duo to headline at Heart Beat event

Heart Beat, an event promoter and music label in producing underground music in HCM City, will feature Berlin-based duo youANDme, made up of Martin Muller and Daniel Stroeter, at The Observatory on November 27.

The duo, owners of Rotary Cocktail Recordings, Polymorph and CUTZ.ME labels, will play German house, techno and dub music. They will perform along with resident DJs, including Chris Wolter from Germany, and B. A. X. from Viet Nam.

EROL, a Swedish member of Heart Beat, will present a visual art performance during the show.

The show will begin at 10pm at 5 Nguyen Tat Thanh Street in District 4. Entrance fee is free until 11pm, and VND150,000 after 11pm.

Apricot Hotel Celebrates First Christmas and New Year

With Vietnam bracing itself to welcome St. Nick with gusto, luxurious Apricot Hotel is pulling out all stops to mark Christmas and New Year’s Eve as it lines up its first collection of festive season events since opening its doors early this year.

As Hanoi’s December temperatures “drop” to a relatively balmy average high of 22 degrees Celsius, the five-star hotel, situated virtually on the banks of Hanoi’s iconic Hoan Kiem Lake and the Old Quarter’s threshold, will stage a host of celebrations including a gala dinner and accompanying stage show, buffet feasts, a rooftop countdown party and charity drive.

“Adorned with a host of original Vietnamese artworks, Apricot Hotel is an impressive gateway to Vietnamese arts and culture,” the hotel’s spokeswoman Phuong Nam Nguyen said.  “And yet we’re also wholeheartedly embracing the biggest occasions on the international calendar, decking the halls with everything Christmas and ushering in 2016 with so much fanfare there’s something on offer to entertain everyone from the children to New Year’s Eve revellers”.

On Christmas Eve from 7.30 pm until 10pm in Apricot’s new Avanti Ballroom, guests will indulge an extravagant gourmet dinner accompanied by dazzling live performances. In addition to a lucky draw with fantastic prizes, Santa Claus will pay a visit with surprise gifts in tow for all the children.

The merriment will extend to other locations throughout the hotel on December 24, with Apricot’s signature restaurant L’Artiste to host a dinner buffet from 6.30pm until 9.30pm, serving up such quintessential staples as traditional roast turkey and grilled seafood, as well as Japanese delicacies and delectable desserts.

Apricot will also ring in New Year’s Eve with a buffet dinner at L’Artiste and a countdown party atop the rooftop terrace, a premier vantage point to marvel Hoan Kiem Lake and Hanoi’s skyline by night.

Throughout all of the events, Apricot Hotel will call on guests to show generosity by donating to a charity box to help turn disadvantaged children's dreams into reality.

Guests wishing to unwind and relax during the festive season can do so at Apricot’s A’telier lobby lounge and café over “Afternoon Tea for Two” featuring a selection of teas from across the globe, savouries and sweets.