Vietnamese crowned Miss Asian America

Jennifer Chung beat out 20 other Asian beauties and was crowned Miss Asian America on August 3 in San Francisco the US.

The 21-year-old is ethnically Vietnamese and resides in San Jose, CA. She is 1m76 tall, weighs 53kg and measures 84-62-94.

Miss Chung is currently a student at San Francisco State University majoring in Business Administration. She has extensive hands-on experience in business operations, sales and marketing, having started a family business, Forever Beaumore Cosmetics Inc.

After winning the title, Chung announced plans to travel to Vietnam to engage in charity activities.

Lotus paintings on show at Heritage Space

Painter Dang Phuong Viet will showcase his latest artwork depicting lotus flowers as a solo exhibition at the Heritage Space on Sunday.

Viet, a Buddhist, spent 20 years drawing lotus flowers on canvas. He even was given the nickname Viet Sen (Viet Lotus) because of his passion.

Entitled Sen Trong Viet (Lotus in Viet), the exhibition reveal the artist's deep respect for the flower, a symbol of Buddhism.

The exhibition will open at 10am. Heritage Space is in Dolphin Plaza, 28 Tran Binh Road, My Dinh.

Hue traditional pottery village gets local recognition

Phuoc Tich, a 600-year-old terracotta producing village in central Thua Thien - Hue Province, was recently recognised as a traditional craft village by local authorities, which will provide funding for the revival of production.

About 500 years ago, the village was the main kitchen pottery supplier for the Imperial Palace of the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945) in Hue. However, production ended following the ruin of the dynasty.

Some outstanding products from the village can be seen at the Hue Museum of Royal Artifacts.

In 2012, the Viet Nam Institute of Arts and Culture Studies in Hue worked with the Belgian Wallonie Heritage Institute to restore the traditional kilns, but they could not find a market for the pottery products. Locals hope the new recognition will help revive the craft.

Russian film week to take place in Da Nang

The Consulate General of the Russian Federation in the central city will organise a Russian film week at Le Do Cinema, 46 Tran Phu Street, Hai Chau District, from tomorrow to Sunday.

Six Russian films (Five Brides, My Boyfriend is an Angel, Pine Tree 2, The Moms, My Dad is Baryshnikov, and I'll Be Around) will be screened with Vietnamese subtitles.

Entrance is free of charge.

Top artists to perform at Da Nang Chamber Music

Cellist Zoe Martlew from England, violist Atle Sponberg from Norway and Vietnamese pianist Nguyen Bich Tra will perform at Da Nang Chamber Music 2014 at the Nguyen Hien Dinh Theatre in Da Nang city next Monday.

Directed by Nguyen Thanh Huy and Tran Thi Nguyet Sa, it will be the biggest concert by foreign artists ever held in the central city.

A Q&A with the musicians will take place on August 12.

The performance starts at 8pm.

Manzi to host contemporary music concerts

A series of contemporary music concerts titled Rendez-Vous En Aout (Meeting in August) will be held at the Manzi Art Space from this Saturday.

The opening concert will feature jazz saxophonist Nguyen Bao Long and Trioture, a classical trio consisting of guest pianist Anne Chamberlain from New York, bassoonist Quang Vu and oboist Do Kien Cuong.

The group will breeze up the night with an improvisation of jazz, world and electronic music.

The Sunday concert will introduce new works by young contemporary composers including Do Tuan, Tran Luu Hoang, Dao Minh Pha - plus Dirk Johan Stromberg from the United States.

Highlight of the night will be the Ly Ngua O Meets Jumpforjazz – a collaborative production by Bao Long and Do Kien Cuong, performed by oboist Cuong and bassoonist Quang Vu.

The last night of the series on Monday, August 11, promises to be an exciting party.

Stromberg and his friends will present their sound installations, an interactive music performance by audience, artists and the composer.

The event will start at 8pm at 14 Phan Huy Ich Street. Surcharge at the door: VND100,000.

Ecopark to feature outdoor yoga class

An outdoor yoga session for Studio Five members and others interested, will be held at the Summer Park, Ecopark, about 15km from Ha Noi on August 24.

Led by an Indian instructor, the one-day event will start at 6am. Visitors will enjoy fresh air and a yoga session, before having breakfast. Mats and towels will be provided.

The cost is VND200,000 for non-members, including transport, breakfast, drinks, yoga mat, and towel.

Registration must be done before August 17 at http://bit.ly/1my0ipy or calling (04)62631515.

Underground music to rock Dark Room

Heart Beat Saigon will present an underground music show titled Dark Room at the Saigon Vibrations Reggae Bar tomorrow.

The show will highlight DJ Nic Ford of the UK, a solo artist for Deep Booth records (Italy). He launched his own vinyl record label "Shift Coordinate Points".

DJ Chris Wolter of Heart Beat Saigon will perform along with Ford in the show. The performance will start at 8pm at 143 Nguyen Trai Street in District 1.

Weekend bazaar to open in District 1

The 3A Station Bazaar, a weekend market offering locally sourced and hand-made products, will be held in District 1 on August 16-17.

The market will feature more than 40 boots with a variety of products. It will also offer a discount of 10 per cent for all products during a 30-minute "happy time" in the morning and afternoon.

There will be food, entertainment activities and street performances. Mai Gallery will present an exhibition of paintings and caricatures during the event.

Local charity organisations will display products to raise funds.

The bazaar is open from 9am to 8pm each day at 3A Ton Duc Thang Street in District 1. More information can be found at https://www.facebook.com/pages/3A-Station-Bazaar/1431290000490698.

Comedy show to enliven Cargo Bar

The Saigon Comedy Club in conjunction with Comedy Club Asia will organise Apocalaughs Now comedy show featuring Nick Page from the UK and Peter Berner from Australia at Cargo Bar on August 19.

Page started in comedy in 2001 and is known for his work as presenter of BBC's daytime TV show Escape to the Country.

Berner has been involved in the Australian scene since 1990s, and is best known as host of ABC TV show The Einstein Factor from 2004 to 2009.

The event will begin at 8pm at 7 Nguyen Tat Thanh Street in District 1. Tickets are VND250,000 and can be booked via email saigoncomedynights@gmail.com.

Ex-Book-Change - A playground for book lovers

A book exchange day called ‘Ex-Book-Change’, aiming at encouraging reading and the education of children in difficult areas, will be held at the Indochina Plaza Trade Center, in Hanoi from 9.30 am to 4pm on August 9.

Ex-Book-Change 2014 is expected to offer a playground for book lovers and an event to raise funds for the ‘Reading Book Festival’ which will be held in Da Bac district, Hoa Binh province.

The event will give book lovers the opportunity to exchange their old books for new ones and to take part in activities including folk games, a seminar on literature and an exhibition featuring paintings of young volunteers with children at the Trung Thanh and Dong Ruong communes in Da Bac district, Hoa Binh province.

Since 2012, the Ex-Book-Change has officially been a part of the Book Reading Festival held by the volunteer organisation ‘Vong tay be ban’. Last year the book ex-change event attracted nearly 700 participants.

Over the last two years, more than 650 books and VND7 million have been collected to donate to needy children in the Ba Vi district, Hanoi.

HCMC artists display outcomes of fieldtrips

An exhibition displaying more than 100 artworks by members of the Ho Chi Minh City Fine Arts Association opened on August 7 at the city’s Fine Arts Museum.

The exhibits were composed by the artists during field trips held by the Vietnam Fine Arts Association last year to various parts of the country.

Utilising different media, such as oil, lacquer, silk, wood, stone and bronze, the artists captured the natural beauty and the people’s daily activities from areas they visited.

Many of them chose to focus on the theme of the country’s sea and islands and showed their sentiment toward Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagoes through their works.

At the opening ceremony, the arts council named Mai Anh Dung from HCM City the A prize winner for his lacquer painting titled ‘Nguong’ (Threshold). Two B prizes went to To Uyen and Hoang Tuong Minh for their works, ‘Len Thap Cham’ (Visiting Cham temple) and ‘Tac Dong’ (Impact), respectively.

The exhibition runs through August 16 at 97 Pho Duc Chinh, district 1.

Preserving H’re traditional ethnic culture

H’re ethnic community in Quang Ngai province possesses a unique traditional culture. As the most special character of the culture, the folk songs of H’re ethnic people such as Ta leu and Ca choi, as well as traditional instruments, including Vo roat and Tuc chinh, are currently being preserved.

According to Doctor Nguyen Dang Vu, Director of the Quang Ngai Department for Culture, Sports and Tourism, the H’re traditional culture reflects spiritual values imbued with the national identity of Central Highlands region.

At present, folk song clubs and cultural houses in Ba To, Minh Long and Son Ha districts, are attracting young people from the H’re ethnic minority. Thanking the clubs for, maintaining the folk songs and traditional musical instruments, H’re ethnic people have presented the best of their traditional culture through musical instrument and song performances at the recent festival of gong and folk songs of ethnic minorities in Quang Ngai.

In the mountainous district of Ba To, where many artisans have taught younger generations to play traditional musical instruments, artisan Pham Van Su is one of a few H’re people who can make and use the ethnic group’s traditional instruments. Nearly 80 years of age, he has devoted himself to preserving and promoting traditional cultural values through teaching younger generations.

“I want to teach traditional instruments and fork songs to younger generations, to preserve H’re culture, although the younger generation now isn’t interested in traditional music. But I will devote all my strength to transmit my knowledge to younger people and that will be my success,” artisan Su said.

The gong and folk songs of ethnic minorities in Quang Ngai are facing the threat of falling into oblivion, due to impacts from modern life.

The preservation and promotion of the traditional character of H’re people aims to keep alive the unique cultural values of these groups and contribute to the development of Vietnam culture and national character.

Local authorities in Ba To, Minh Long and Son Ha districts have recently taken an inventory in order to to rank forms of culture. Meanwhile Quang Ngai province has also asked local authorities in the province’s districts to organise cultural activities, festivals and contests to promote delight among local audiences and build national cultural character.

The Echo of Nature – vow of artists to nature

The Echo of Nature is a second exhibition featuring 43 artworks by eight artists at Vietnam Fine Arts Museum from August 11 to 15.

This is the outcome of a 2012-2014 project by Le The Anh, Duy Tung, Nguyen Ngoc Tuan, Dang Hiep, Duy Hoa, Le Thuy, Dang Huu and Trinh Lien to draw with nature.

At the epoch of the dramatic social and political changes, of rapid information technology development, the participating artists want to portray nature based on the spirit of nature to establish a profound connection between nature and human souls.

The declaration of the eight members of this mobile artists group about their further plans is to develop techniques, enrich feelings and expressions, and find the individual ways in art to achieve perfection in capturing their favorite subject – nature. That is also the result of their studies, reflections and experiments.

This show is not only an overall result of a group artistic practice but also a modest step of young enthusiasts on their way towards creative discoveries. Inspired by the majesty and mystique of nature, the artists show the public their ideas and sentiment in the hopes that they will also the echo of nature.