Vietnam travel handbook to be sold on Amazon

Vietnam guidebook “Saigon Zoom In” giving information of downtown areas in Ho Chi Minh City as well as well-known tourism cities in Vietnam and its cultural experiences will be sold online.

It is the first guidebook with the 11-part series “Vietnam Visual Travel Guide which is designed as a bookazine - a publication that combines elements of books and magazines by famous artist Nguyen Tri Phuong Dong.

The guidebook will be reprinted periodically. It contains not only valuable information regarding where to go and what to do in Vietnam, but also vivid paintings, art, maps, diagrams and icons; accordingly, it provides addresses of café shops, restaurants and guidance to tourists.

According to publisher Dai Viet Hoan Cau Company, it has signed a contract with Amazon.com to sell the book with the cost of US$10 a piece. The book is written in both Vietnamese and English and published in print and online versions, said representative from Dai Viet Hoan Cau.

Nha Trang hosts first culinary festival

The coastal city of Nha Trang will organise its first food festival from July 8 to 13 to honour Vietnamese gastronomic culture.

Chefs from all over the country will compete in a cooking contest. An old-style market will offer regional specialities such as cha ca La Vong (grilled fish), mi Quang (noodle dish from the central province of Quang Nam) and banh xeo (crispy rice crepe from the south).

Co-organised by the HCM City-based EXPO International Trading Joint Stock Company and Khanh Hoa Province's Culture, Sports and Tourism Department, the festival aims to promote tourism and commercial exchange among business.

Maps, documents affirming Vietnam’s sovereignty exhibited in Ly Son

Following a number of localities, Ly Son island district in the central province of Quang Ngai was the next destination of the exhibition “Vietnam’s Hoang Sa, Truong Sa – historical and legal evidence”.

The exhibition aims to raise awareness, unity and a sense of responsibility of Vietnamese people in and outside the country, especially youngsters, in protecting and affirming Vietnam’s sovereignty over the two archipelagoes.

Speaking at the event on July 2, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Truong Minh Tuan highlighted the meaning of holding the exhibition in Ly Son island, home to Hoang Sa Flotilla, which safeguarded the national sovereignty over sea and islands hundreds of years ago.

On display were copies of ancient maps and atlases, and documents in traditional Chinese, Vietnamese and French languages issued by Vietnamese feudal states and the French colonial empire in Indochina countries from the 17th to the early 20th century. All declare Vietnam’s sovereignty over the two archipelagoes.

Notably, the exhibition featured a range of official documents issued by the Nguyen dynasty (1802-1945) and the Republic of Vietnam (1954-1975), showing Vietnam exploited, managed and exercised its sovereignty over the islands.

On this occasion, the Ministry of Information and Communications and the Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) provided 10 fishermen with Icom radio devices which help them get in touch with the mainland, and presented 15 computers to three schools.

They also granted scholarships to 50 outstanding students and gifts to 20 soldiers who have acted well in the national sovereignty safeguard.

Bike around the lakes

On Saturday, BikeNBrunch will host a bike ride around two lakes.

The ride will start at 9am at the Potsn'Pans restaurant at 57 Bui Thi Xuan Street. Drinks and fruit will be served before and after the trip. Members will also sit down to a mouth-watering brunch featuring five dishes.

Cost payable to Pots n' Pans on the day: VND200,000.

Register by message or email thuylinh@exoticvoyages.com with name and mobile number along with any special requirements, such as bike hire.

Casa Italia stages Italian folk music show

On Sunday, the Centre for the Academic Promotion and Orientation of Study in Italy, Uni-Italia, will present a concert of the Italian folk music Taranta.

Entry is free. The concert will be held at Casa Italia, 18 Le Phung Hieu Street, starting at 9.30am.

Orchestra performs Korean music

Korea Fantasy: Sound, Dance and Performance, a concert featuring traditional Korean music, will be staged with the Gukak Chungnam Orchestra from Cheonan City, Korea at Ben Thanh Theatre today.

The programme includes a Modeum-buk performance featuring traditional drums and other Korean musical instruments.

The highlight will be Pansori, a Korean genre of musical storytelling performed by a vocalist and a drummer.

Singer An So Eun will entertain Vietnamese audiences with the popular song Viet Nam, Que Huong Toi (Viet Nam, My Country) by late composer Do Nhuan.

The concert will begin at 7.30pm at 6 Mac Dinh Chi Street in District 1. Tickets are VND200,000 at www.ticketbox.vn.—

French Institute screens four films

Four French movies, including comedy, animation and historical dramas, will be presented at the Institute of Cultural Exchange with France (IDECAF) during its monthly film screening programme in July.

The films are Detective Pauline, Augustine, animation Jean de la Lune (Moon Man) and Radio Stars, to be screened at 3pm on Saturday with Vietnamese subtitles.

The venue is at 28 Le Thanh Ton Street in District 1. Entrance is VND30,000.

Rock concert features local talent

The Saigon Rock Club will host a rock concert called Fire in Hell VIII at the Darling Cafe on July 6.

The event will feature five local bands, Ares, Black Rose, Linh Hon (Soul), Rot and Sagometal. They will perform power metal, heavy, gothic, black metal and melodic death-metal rock music.

The show starts from 7pm at 90A/1 Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street in District 1. Tickets are VND100,000, and can be purchased at www.ticketbox.vn.

MasterChef winner creates fundraising fare

The winner of the US MasterChef television contest 2012, Vietnamese-American Christine Ha, will work with Park Hyatt Saigon Hotel's Executive Chef Marco Torre and Pots ‘n Pans Restaurant's Head Chef Phuong Doan to design the menu for the Taste the Stories fundraising event, which will be held at the hotel on July 5.

The event is hosted by KOTO, a non-profit social enterprise dedicated to providing hospitality training and life skills to disadvantaged youth in Viet Nam. All the proceeds from the dinner will go towards its training programme, especially for the building of a training centre in HCM City.

There will be an auction, raffle and live performances by famous Vietnamese and foreign singers Thu Minh and Kyo York.

The dinner will take place from 6-10pm at 2 Lam Son Square in District 1. Tickets are VND3 million per pax, and can be booked at www.ticketbox.vn.

Venezuelan folk music to be featured on Vietnam stage

A Venezuelan band called Carota, Nema and Taja will give performances in Hanoi, Quang Ninh province and Hai Phong city from July 2–12.

The artists will regale Vietnamese audiences with their country’s traditional folklore melodies, which praise the solidarity between nations.

Formed in 1981, the six-member group has gained a significant position in Venezuela’s music scene.

Their shows will take place at Hanoi’s Cong Nhan theatre on July 5, Quang Ninh’s Vietnam-Japan Labour and Culture Palace on July 9, and Hai Phong city theatre on July 11.

The events have been organised by Vietnam’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Venezuelan Embassy in Vietnam.

Taste of the Stories: A Fundraising Dinner

In order to support disadvantaged and disable youth in Vietnam, KOTO as a social enterprise has joined forces with U.S. Master Chef 2012 Christine Ha to present a ticketed fundraising dinner at the Park Hyatt Saigon Hotel from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday.

The event is named Taste of the Stories, in which Master Chef 2012 Christine Ha will collaborate with Executive Chef Marco Torre of the Park Hyatt Saigon and Head Chef of Pots n’ Pans Restaurant Phuong Doan to design and serve an exclusive menu for this fundraising dinner. The event will also include several auctions and raffles with valuable prizes, such as items autographed by Christine Ha. All the proceeds from the event will become a part of KOTO training program, which consists of funding a training school in HCMC.

There are also performances from famous artists who have been KOTO supporters for a long time; they are Jimmii Nguyen, Thu Minh, Kyo York and KOTO Goodwill Ambassador 2012 Thanh Bui and Miss Jennifer Pham as the MC for the event.

The ticket for the dinner is VND3 million, available now at KOTO Saigon Restaurant, located at 151 Hai Ba Trung Street, District 3, HCMC. For more information about the event, please contact Ms Hoang Oanh at oanh.luu@koto.com.au.

The venue for Taste of the Stories is at the Park Hyatt Saigon Hotel, 2 Lam Son Square, District 1, HCMC.

Art contest in Thailand calls for Vietnamese entries

A contemporary art contest for artists in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) is calling for submissions from artists in GMS countries including Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Brunei and China.

The contest is for paintings made of oil, watercolor, acrylic and mix media which have not been exhibited or joined other contests before. The contest, co-organized by the Department of Visual Arts, Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts of Thailand’s Mahasarakham University, the Research Institute of North-Eastern Art and Culture (RINAC), and Jampasri Gallery Northeast Association of Artists in Thailand, aims to nourish art talents and promote exchange between artists in the region.

The contest is divided into three categories, including university and general public contestants, high school and vocational school contestants and secondary school contestants. Each artist will submit a maximum three artworks attached with information in English or Thai languages.

In Vietnam, artists can send images of pieces via email yuttana.arts@gmail.com to the organizers from October 18 to 20. Then, selected ones for the qualifying round will be announced via email from October 22. After getting the results, artists have to send selected paintings to Hue Fine Arts University, 10 To Ngoc Van Street in Hue City from November 1 to 5.

Artworks will be judged at the Research Institute of North-Eastern Art and Culture on November 19 and the results will be announced three days later. The award ceremony will be on December 12 and winning works will be on display at Jampasri Gallery until January 30, 2015.

In the first category for university students and public artists, the grand prize is worth around US$3,000 while two other excellent winners scoop around US$1,500 each and three remarkable winners will be given US$750 each. For high school and vocational school contestants, there will be one grand prize worth US$300, two excellent works worth US$200 each and three remarkable works worth around US$100.

For secondary school contestants, a grand prize is worth around US$275, two excellent works US$185 each and three remarkable works US$90 each.

For more information, contact Hue Fine Arts University at 054 3511 824, 054 3511 824 or email to huefineart@gmail.com.

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