Winner of singing contest to receive $14,000 prize

Fifty-six amateur and professional singers will have a chance to win a cash prize of over VND300 million (US$14,200) in the Toi La Nguoi Chien Thang contest produced by HCM City Television (HTV) and Dong Tay Promotion, based on the format of the Dutch show The Winner Is.

The contest includes celebrities, professional singers, students and middle-aged singers who will compete in singing duels.

The second season will see popular actors, singers and MCs like actress Lan Phuong, choreographer Ha Le, veteran singer Luong Chi Cuong and composer and singer Luong Bang Quang.

The organisers will invite veteran musicians like Thanh Bui and Duc Huy to head a panel of 101 judges, including journalists and music fans, who will decide the four finalists. The first eight episodes of the show will be broadcast live on HTV 7 at 9pm every Saturday, beginning on Saturday, while the final four episodes will be aired at 9pm every Sunday.

New Movie on Homosexuality: Lac Gioi

The subject of homosexuality is no longer strange to Vietnamese cinema, but to portray a love of a cold-blooded thief and a young man, with the purest and sincere feelings that he can to the sacrifice of his life, is a new topic that is depicted in Lac Gioi (Lost in Sexuality) directed by Phi Tien Son. The movie will premiere on October 17 at Galaxy theater system.

The plot starts with Dung (starring Trung Dung), who is a notorious thief and a ruthless killer. He loves Kim (starring Mai Thu Huyen), a very cool chic. However, to survive in a harsh living environment, Dung discovers that, from the depth of his soul, he actually falls in love with Hai (starring An Binh), a junior assistant who has just been through puberty. This strange love has taken three people into a spiral of a tragic love triangle.

According to actor Trung Dung, the plot was inspired from the reality. He believes that one’s homosexuality is a natural aspect, rather than a disease or an illness. That was why he earnestly requested director Phi Tien Son to write a script based on his idea. He hoped that the film will help people change their views on gay or bisexual life, as well as nurture a sympathy and understanding toward them.

The film features many stars, such as meritorious artist Thanh Loc, Trung Dan, Kim Khanh, Nguyen Hau, and the young actress Mai Ho.

‘Summer Meeting’ a rendezvous for Vietnamese and Japanese artists

About 30 abstract paintings by four artists Kato Shojiro, Nguyen Duy Linh, Le Thanh Thu and Vo Xuan Huy are being displayed at Tu Do Gallery.

On display are landscapes depicted vaporously by color layers. Made in abstract style, paintings let viewers freely sense and imagine whatever they want and then free their soul in those colored worlds.

Thu is a poet before holding the brush with many various styles from impressionist and expressionist to abstract and contemporary. So his artworks are the harmony of fine arts and poetry, expressed in a series of landscapes created during the 90’s that are as softly elegant as a band of white cloud on the clear sky, or a range of mountain slightly blurred behind waves of water. They are just the imagination of a poet.

Kato Shojiro from Japan brings to the show his love to Vietnam national flower – lotus. “My intention is to convey an impression about the country, through a foreign eye, to the local community,” said Shojiro.

Visitors will have a chance to explore a Japanese-style rendition of the flowers which is completely different from that of any local artist. Without the title to give a hint, the series may strike viewers as a world of abstraction where colors are used merely as a function of the artist’s experience of the object and forms created for their own sake, devoid of any clear reference to the world of reality.

Shojiro seeks to capture the subject’s essence as opposed to its outside appearance. This approach to painting is itself a vivid example of quintessentially Japanese aesthetics. The paintings are slightly modified replicas of one another rendered in a different color tone, characterizing a series of experiments in which the artist plays with his own emotions and sensitivity.

Huy is among a few Vietnamese artists who make abstract paintings with lacquer. His lacquer paintings in this show, created during 2002 – 2011, had enough time so that most of the lines and colors at deeper layers simmer while the surface layer has become more transparent.

Linh conveys the beautiful sceneries of the transitional period between hot summer and frosty winter which has inspired the artist so much. He will take visitors through the diverse emotions and romance of Hue in fall.

The exhibition will run until July 28 at the gallery, 53 Ho Tung Mau Street in HCMC’s District 1.

The Hilton Hanoi Opera Hotel is running a photo contest depicting the most memorable moments of the landmark over the past 15 years.

“Each photograph is a priceless treasure of momentous moments from the history of the hotel,” a spokesperson for the organizing board said.

Entries can be submitted from July 10 to August 20 and must contain the name along with the photos. Photos accompanied with captions are encouraged (describing emotions, comments and information related to the photograph: time and location of shooting).

Complete information on the photo contest can be accessed at www.facebook.com/hiltonhanoiopera.

A special award is a weekend two-night stay in an Executive Suite room, including breakfast and dinner for two at the Hilton Hanoi Opera Hotel worth VND18 million.

Ten prizes for best photographs are vouchers for a weekend barbecue for two at Chez Manon restaurant.

Less than 45 minutes from Noi Bai International Airport, the Hilton Hanoi Opera hotel is at the center of the upmarket Hoan Kiem district, within walking distance to Hanoi’s thriving central business district and beautiful Hoan Kiem Lake and the Old Quarters.

The landmark was awarded ‘Best Business Hotel in Hanoi 2010’ and voted ‘Vietnam's Leading Hotel’ for five consecutive years at the prestigious World Travel Awards.

Around 3,000 people, all dressed in pink, will join the so-called Pink Zumba World Cup, the ever first Zumba festival in pink in Viet Nam, this Sunday.

The event, which promotes itself as the most exciting public dance party of the year, will enthral audiences, the organisers promised.

The event will showcase the winner of the first season of Got To Dance Viet Nam 2013, hip hop band S.I.N.E, Beso Latino Viet Nam dance troupe, the dancing pair Bella Pham – Viet Anh Le, singer Vu Hong Nhat Trang and the top 12 from the renowned Sao Mai Diem Hen singing contest. The event begins at 7.30pm.

A flash mob by hundreds of volunteers on the background of Zumba and other Latin-style dances, has also been organised at the festival. Attendees have also been encouraged to take part in the 30-minute performance under the guidance of professional dancers from Zumba Ha Noi Club, the hosts of the event.

Football fans will also get a chance to paint flags of their favourite World Cup 2014 teams.

Those interested in more information and invitations for the free event at Vincom Megamall Royal City Ha Noi, can visit the fanpage: Zumba Fitness Viet Nam.

Vietnamese Food Festival 2014 opens in Nha Trang

Vietnamese Food Festival 2014 featuring special dishes from around the country is being held in the coastal city of Nha Trang.

The festival includes 500 display booths of 250 local and foreign enterprises.

The food show also consists of a cooking contest, giving visitors a chance to taste special dishes of the country; folk games and much more.

The festival aims to introduce and honor the country’s culinary culture , provide an opportunity for trade promotion and partnership among businesses operating in the restaurant and tourism sectors.

The event will run until July 13.

Culture ministry to supply books to libraries in rural districts

According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s figure, a Vietnamese person just read less than a book a year in a library ( just 0.8 book a year).

The number of book distributed to a library is less than a book a person, too ( just 0.35 book a person). Vietnam’s National Library has around 30,000 regular readers who register at the library while libraries in rural districts have around 1,000-2,000 readers.

The number of readers in countryside communes is 100-5000. Some rural areas and mountainous regions even don’t have a library.

Therefore, the ministry sent its document to its sub-departments asking to enhance educating about the importance of newspapers and books.

Sub-departments are asked to distribute more newspapers and books to cultural houses and implement lifetime studying activities in libraries, museums, cultural houses and clubs.

Ancient bronze gong set discovered in Kontum

On July 8, Nguyen Van Phiem, deputy head of culture and information of Sa Thay District of Kon Tum Province, revealed that a group of culture officers have been dispatched to verify information about people discovering a gong set while searching for scraps, reports VietnamPlus.

The gong set of eight was found during the late afternoon of July 7 by some people while they were deep inside the jungle, about 20km away from the closest residential area.

According to Nguyen Van Phiem, the area where the gong set was found might once belong to some ethnic minorities. There is also a chance that the area was a farming field where those ethnic minorities chose to store their gong sets.

Despite the public opinion that the newly discovered gong set can be worth a lot in values, Nguyen Van Phiem revealed that the district’s department of culture couldn’t determine the gong set’s origin. Thus, the department has already sent a group of officers to local areas to get a grasp of the situation, and therefore can determine the ethnic group in which the gong set belonged to; and also to report the situation to their chiefs, in order to have the right solution. If the gongs were to belong to a local ethnic minority, there would usually be 12-14 gongs in the set.

On Monday, some people of rural hamlet 1, Ya Xier Village, Sa Thay District discovered a gong buried three meters deep. After digging and expanding the surrounding areas, they found seven more gongs.

After the discovery, these people hid those gongs in a house of a villager named Luong Van Quy, located at rural Hamlet 1, Ya Xier Village. Some villagers reveal there were some traders and collectors who approached them asking to buy the gong set for more than VND100 million, but the people who were responsible for the discovery have yet to agree.

Exhibition on sea and island sovereignty in city

More than 50 propaganda paintings together with maps ascertaining Vietnam’s sovereignty over the waters and islands in the East Sea are being displayed at HCMC Fine Arts Museum.

The exhibition ‘Defend the Vietnamese border and sea’, held by the museum in collaboration with HCMC Fine Arts Association, is one meaningful event in an effort to bolster the protection of the nation’s sovereignty over the border, the sea and the islands in the aftermath of China’s illegal placement of Haiyang Shiyou 981 oil rig in Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone and its continental shelf.

On display are images of brave solders on the islands, bold fishermen as well as angry citizens around the country. The works also depict hopes and dreams of Vietnamese people about peace and justice.

The show also features some documentary images and maps from international friends.

Works will be on show at the museum, 97 Pho Duc Chinh Street in HCMC’s District 1, until July 17. Then they will be displayed in other cities and provinces such as Con Dao, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Danang, Binh Duong, Dong Nai and some schools nationwide from July 20 to the end of October.

July highlights at Windsor Plaza Saigon

Guests to the restaurants of the hotel during this month can enjoy lots of food and beverage promotions.

U.S. beef prepared in a variety of traditional styles including grilled, roasted, and even succulent Beef Wellington is available nightly on the regular international buffet.

Guests to the hotel every Tuesday will enjoy 30% off the total bill with the Windsor VIPCard. Every Sunday in July is for families when two children under 10 years old per family eat free with the Windsor VIPCard holder.

Lunch buffet from Monday to Saturday is priced at VND318.000++ per person and that on Sundays and holidays is VND338.000++ per person

Guests to a dinner buffet from Monday to Friday will be charged VND488.000++ per person while prices on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays are VND545.000++ per person.

A selection of delicious Chinese favorites, including suckling pig, Peking roast duck, and dim sum lunch are offered at special prices.

Two concerts under the name Hope Symphony (Thap Sang Niem Tin) will take place at 8 p.m. on July 29 and August 1 respectively at Hanoi Opera House and in HCMC to raise funds for the Thap Sang Niem Tin scholarship fund.

The concerts feature two violinists L.Dobrevska from Macedonia and Accordion A.Nikolic from Serbia, the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra and HCMC Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera.

Audiences will enjoy some tango masterpieces under the baton of conductor Le Phi Phi, including La Cumparsita, Verrano, Adios Nonino, Preparansa, Milonga Del Angel, Invierno, Por Una Cabeza, Oblivion, Valsecito Viejo, Balkango, Balkan Milonga Loca, and Libertango.

Thap Sang Niem Tin scholarship fund was born in 2007 to care for poor but studious students nationwide. So far the fund has helped 650 students continue their study. The fund is managed by PVcomBank, PVOil, and PTSC, and sponsored by PetroVietnam.

The organizers call on the community to make donations to the program. For further information, contact the PVOil office at level 14, 1-5 Le Duan Boulevard, District 1. Tel: 08 3910 6990 (ext. 444) or call Ms. Ly on 098 263 1984.