Water puppetry promoted in Hoi An

Water puppetry performances began in the World Cultural Heritage Site of Hoi An Ancient Town on a weekly basis as from October 2, adding a new attraction to both tourists and local people.

The performances will be staged from 18:30 every Friday and Saturday at Hoi An Theatre at No. 548 Hai Ba Trung Street, Hoi An Town in the central province of Quang Nam. Shows can also be organised on demand. Ticket prices range from 80,000 VND ($3.6) for adults to 40,000 VND (1.8 USD) for children.

Besides familiar shows of the daily life of Vietnamese farmers including cultivating crops, tending to buffaloes, catching fish or historical legends, the city has also created various performances which feature special local characteristics such as Apsara dances and humming-top stories.

Vice Chairman of the Hoi An City People’s Committee Nguyen Van Son said tourism development has brought numerous opportunities to introduce and disseminate art-cultural genres to both domestic and foreign visitors.

Water puppetry dates back as far as the 11th century when it originated in the Red River Delta of northern Vietnam. Vietnamese water puppetry is a unique variation on the ancient Asian puppetry tradition.

Cung Sanh Buoc exhibition features works about nature

Eleven popular artists of the 5P Artist Club will exhibit works at the "Cung Sanh Buoc" (In Steps Impression 4) at IDECAF tomorrow.

Nguyen Thi Tam, Co Van Hau, Nguyen Phi Long, Thanh Tam, Duyen Tran, Minh Minh, Yen Truc, Thu Nguyet, Phuong Trang, Nguyen Nhu Khoi and Tran Thuy Linh will present their 50 latest works on nature with the theme of Space and Life.

The works, including oil on canvas, water colour and acrylic, are the results of the artists' fact-finding trips. They depict typical features in the Southern landscape such as bamboo bridges and flowers.

The annual exhibition by 5P Artist Club, created by artist Nguyen Thi Tam and late artist Nguyen Long Son, runs until October 14 at IDECAF, 31 Thai Van Lung Street, District 1 until Tuesday. 

Park Hyatt Saigon, Elyx present Art in the Park

Park Hyatt Saigon in partnership with Absolut Elyx will organise a contemporary art project, Art at the Park, on October 9 at the Guest House in HCM City.

Combining the talents of three Viet Nam's social-fashion enterprise Fashion4Freedom; Laurent Judge, an abstract painter, and Reflection, a contemporary art project combining neo-classical ballet with photography.

The show offers guests an opportunity for involvement, exposure and action in the community and culture through art. The event will evoke emotional connections, memories and shared experiences by stimulating all of the senses.

Some of the most exclusive pieces on display will be exhibited on the mezzanine of Park Hyatt Saigon throughout October.

Free English camp held for city youth

Children and young people in HCM City have been invited to participate in the English Camp 2015 launched by the city's Student Association, in co-operation with its partners, this weekend.

The event is designed to help youth improve their skills in English.

Seminars and forums on learning English hosted by educators and linguists from the HCM City National University and International Training Institute will be featured.

It will also include games, photo exhibitions, performances, painting and cooking contests.

The camp will open at 8am on Sunday at the Youth Cultural House at 4 Pham Ngoc Thanh Street in District 1.

Park honoured for nature conservation

Tram Chim National Park in southern Dong Thap Province has been hailed for its wetland conservation in the lower part of the Cuu Long (Mekong) River.

The park was selected following a study run by Oxfam and the Centre for Social Research and Development based in Thua Thien - Hue Province.

Six other sites in the lowland areas of the giant river were also applauded for their nature conservation efforts, including Tonle Sap and Beug Yeak Loam Lake in Cambodia, Sangthong District and Phongsaly Province in Laos, and Bung Binh Thien Lake in Viet Nam.

Covering 7,313 hectares of cajeput forest, wet grasslands and canals, the park has succeeded in developing a mechanism for locals in the buffer zone to share the benefits from the land.

According to Nguyen Hoang Minh Hai, one of the park managers, locals were allowed to fish in the park from August to December, and use dead cajuput trees for fuel.

"We work with selected families stating clearly their rights and responsibilities when they are inside the park. People that violate regulations are prohibited from entry," Hai said.

"This has worked well since 2006 and helped to protect the bird communities living in the park.

The park is home to 147 bird species, of which 13 are listed as rare and precious birds by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Tram Chim is also home to 100 vertebrates and 40 species of fish, and is a wetland site listed under the Ramsar Convention.

Experts said that preserving these wetland and water sites was important given the negative impacts of hydropower dams further up the Mekong River..

"The market economy and climate change have had a negative impact on our natural resources, so good practices like this should be honoured," said Lam Thi Thu Suu, director of the Centre for Social Research and Development.

When people gained an insight into nature conservation, the environmental situation would change, she said.

Poet Nguyen Du’s birthday marked nationwide

Activities to celebrate 250 years since the birth of great poet Nguyen Du (1766-1820) were reviewed at a session in Hanoi on October 2. 

As heard during the meeting, the organising board has thus far held press conferences, an international seminar and run a promotion campaign covered by the media in central Ha Tinh province, the poet’s hometown. 

Notably, a quiz on Nguyen Du and his most beloved work, Truyen Kieu (The Tale of Kieu), has gathered more than 210,500 entries nationwide, while relevant biographical documentaries and films are being completed. 

The major celebration event is scheduled to run in Ha Tinh from December 3-5. 

Nguyen Du, also known as To Nhu and Thanh Hien, was recognized by UNESCO as a World Cultural Celebrity among 108 others in 2003. 

His most influential work, The Tale of Kieu, is a 3,254-line classic verse novel written in "luc bat" (six-eight meter), a traditional verse form of Vietnam's poetry. 

Kieu's story is vastly popular in Vietnam; many people know the epic by heart and it has been translated into some 20 different languages including French, Chinese, English, Russian and Japanese. 

The work was recognized by the World Peace Council as one of the world's most celebrated cultural works in 1965.

Free public screenings of wildlife protection short films in Hanoi

The WildFest short film competition will be held in Hanoi next month with 17 films available for free viewing.

The films will include 11 entries for the competition, which have been selected from dozens sent from Vietnam, South Africa, Thailand, Malaysia and Australia for the past three months, organizers said.

The public screenings will be held on November 1, during which the winners of the WildFest Award will be announced.

WildFest, a short film competition to raise awareness about wildlife trafficking, is among main activities of the Operation Game Change, a non-profit organization founded by US and Vietnamese wildlife activists.

Actress Hong Anh and other well-known directors, including Charlie Nguyen, Nguyen Quang Dung, 

Nguyen Hoang Diep, Bao Nguyen, and several wildlife activists from international organizations will be members of the jury.

The winner of the Grand Awards will claim a prize of VND50 million in cash and a trip to South Africa.

Two other prizes of VND25 million each will be also awarded, said organizers.

Audience could book in advance for free tickets on the awards’ website at www.wildfest.org.

Hoan Kiem through the lens

A photo exhibition featuring 12 photos of Hoan Kiem Lake (Sword Lake) sceneries is opening at Hoan Kiem Lake Cultural Information Centre in downtown Hanoi.

Titled Sac Mau Ho Guom (The Colours of Sword Lake), the exhibition, which showcases photos taken by Ha Hong, a journalist, is expected to bring visitors the images and exquisite views of the Sword Lake in different seasons.

A native of the central province of Ha Tinh but born and raised in Hanoi, Hong is currently head of Nhan Dan (The People) newspaper's Science and Education News Desk as well as head of the newspaper's Photography Club.

With a passion for Hanoi, especially Hoan Kiem Lake, Hong launched his own website on the lake (www.hohoankiem.org) in 2006 to tell lovers of the thousand-year-old-city the stories of Hanoians around Sword Lake and introduced his photos.

"Every day after work or at weekends, I often go for a stroll around Hoan Kiem Lake to capture the colourful moments of this place, a bouquet of flowers in the heart of the city," said Hong.

He added that that bouquet of flowers changes its colour with the arrival of each season: the pinkish white of ban (mountain ebony) flowers in spring, the bright red of phuong (flamboyant) flowers, the purple of bang lang (giant crape-myrtle) flowers in summer, the flaming-red of loc vung (Barringtonia acutangula) flowers in early autumn and the giant crape-myrtle leaves turn from green to red warning the approaching cold days of winter.

Hong engrossed to capture these changes of colours of Sword Lake for all seasons, and in the last nine years, over a thousand news articles and more than five thousand photos taken by the journalist have been published on his website.

This photo exhibition aims to celebrate the 61st anniversary of Hanoi's liberation (October 10, 1954) at the Hoan Kiem Lake Cultural Information Centre, 2 Le Thai To Street, and will end on October 19.

Exhibition featuring artworks of street children opens in France

A charity art exhibition featuring over 30 paintings and flowers made from clay by street children at the ‘Green Bamboo Warm Shelter’ in Ho Chi Minh City took place at Marius Sidobre Centre in Arcueil city, France from October 2-3.

The event was held jointly by District 1 of Ho Chi Minh City, the Arcueil Friendship Association and the Overseas Vietnamese Association in France.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Deputy Mayor of Arcueil city, Anne-Marie Gilger-Trigon expressed her pleasure at the city being selected to host the meaningful event.

The exhibition aimed to help children in difficult circumstances express their passion and show-off their painting and sculpting skills through display of the unique artworks, she added.

At the exhibition, dozens of paintings worth EUR50 each and clay flowers worth EUR15-20 were sold.

All proceeds will be sent to the ‘Green Bamboo Warm Shelter’ in Ho Chi Minh City to help disadvantaged children currently living there.

Arts festival celebrates Vietnam's first general election

An arts festival, celebrating the 70th anniversary of Vietnam's first general election (January 6, 1946 – January 1, 2016), held its qualifying round for the northern region at Vinh Phuc Provincial Theatre from October 2-3.

The event featured 77 performances by artists from 17 provinces and cities in northern Vietnam.

The performances praised the meaningful role of the National Assembly, which is the highest organ of state power and the highest-level representative body of the people.

The festival was organised by the National Assembly (NA) Office to mark the 70th anniversary of Vietnam's first general election.

Three first prizes went to the teams of Hanoi, Vinh Phuc and Ha Tinh; while three second prizes were presented to Son La, Tuyen Quang and Hoa Binh teams. Additionally, the organising board presented many prizes to outstanding individuals.

The festival includes qualifying rounds in five regions across the country and an overall final round.

VNS/ND/VOV/SGT