Category: Entertainment

A Vietnamese Festival was held in Yokohama, the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture of Japan on September 9, drawing a large number of visitors.

Addressing the event, Kanagawa Governor Kuroiwa Yuji highlighted the meaning of the event, marking the complete recovery of exchange and cooperation activities between the people of Vietnam and Japan in general and Kanagawa in particular after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Pham Quang Hieu underlined that the festival is one of many activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Japan.

Themed “Connecting for future,” the event aims to encourage people of the two countries to foster their connectivity under the motto of “Vietnam and Japan head to the future together and rise to the world”.

The diplomat said he hopes the Kanagawa Festival in Vietnam slated for November will be a success

First held in 2015, the Vietnamese Festival in Kanagawa has become an annual event, contributing to strengthening solidarity and mutual understanding between people of the locality and Japan with Vietnam.

This year, the festival was held in the framework of the Vietnam Day in Kanagawa, which also includes various investment and tourism promotion activities.

More than 80 booths at the festival introduced the cuisine and traditional arts of Vietnam to Japanese. Intensive programmes on Vietnam tourism and culture exploration were also organised, along with a Japanese speech contest for international students in Kanagawa.

Located south of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture has an area of 2,415 sq.m2 and a population of more than 9.2 million people, the second most populous in Japan. In recent years, the number of Vietnamese people living and working in Kanagawa has continuously increased, making Vietnamese the second largest foreign community out of 30,000 people from more than 170 countries/territories living here.

The festival will last through September 10./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Supermarkets and wet markets are now busy as the Vu Lan festival is only three days away.

The festival, dedicated to both parents who are living and those who passed away, will fall on August 30 or the 15th day of the 7th lunar month.

In traditional markets in Hanoi, prices of fruits, flowers and food have increased slightly by 5-10% from the usual days. Vegetarian food offerings are becoming a trend for many families during this time.

The votive paper market has also entered its busiest period of the year.

Vu Thi Vui, a small business owner selling various types of ritual items at Mo market, said eco-friendly incenses, candles and other products are more favoured.

Amid economic downturn, the number of customers has increased but their level of spending decreased, she added.

The festival is based on the legend of Maudgalyayana (known as Muc Kien Lien in Vietnam), a chief disciple of Sakyamuni Buddha, who was unable to alleviate the suffering of his mother in the realm of hungry ghosts.

He was told that the only way to deliver his mother from the pains of suffering is to rely upon the strength of monastics of all directions in their cultivation of meritorious virtues.

The merits could liberate the deceased from the three suffering realms and allow them to enjoy a life of abundance, good fortune and longevity.

Therefore, by observing the practice, all Buddhists can deliver their parents from the miseries of the three suffering realms.

From this, many Buddhist countries have developed their own custom of offering food, clothing, and other items to hungry spirits in the seventh lunar month.

This festival has been widely celebrated in Vietnam to express respect, love and honour towards parents./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Tourism Malaysia continues with its second roadshow to India this year across six 2nd tier cities from 14th to 26th August 2023. The roadshow kicks off in the city of Amritsar followed by Lucknow, Nagpur, Pune, Goa, and Coachin.

Headed by the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, YB Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan, the roadshow consists of 45 local organisations comprising hotels and resorts, travel agents, tourism product owners, visa consultants, Malaysia-based airlines, and representatives from state tourism boards.

Source: Nam News Network

Two Vietnamese films – “Yellow Flowers on Green Grass” and “Yen’s Life” – are competing in the first ASEAN Film Festival in Hong Kong (China).

The festival, taking place from August 4-19, is organised by the Hong Kong-ASEAN Association, the Consulates General of ASEAN countries in Hong Kong, and partners.

The cultural event aims to introduce the diverse beauty in culture and customs of the ASEAN community to Hong Kong audiences through stories in the film, and help them further understand Southeast Asian culture, thus promoting cultural exchanges and deepening cultural and economic ties between the two sides.

A total of 14 works from eight ASEAN countries, including Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia, Brunei, and Singapore are screened at M Cinema, The Sky và The Miller Theatre (Asia Society Hong Kong).

Vietnamese Consul General in Hong Kong Pham Binh Dam said that the participation of Vietnamese films in the festival is an effort to implement cultural diplomacy and promote the country and people of Vietnam. The films will inspire people to visit Vietnam for tourism or business.

“Yellow Flowers on Green Grass” was directed by Vietnamese-American director Victor Vu and “Yen’s Life” by Dinh Tuan Vu./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

A festival is underway in Portugal’s Porto city, aiming to promote the beauty of Vietnam and its Ho Chi Minh City, and enhance economic ties between the two cities.

The event, from July 28-30, is held by the HCM City People’s Committee in coordination with the Vietnamese Embassy in France and Portugal, and Porto authorities.

It is the biggest trade, investment, tourism and culture promotion even launched by HCM City in Europe this year, Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Duong Anh Duc said in his opening remarks, informing that HCM City and Porto have just signed a memorandum of understanding on establishing friendship and cooperation.

The festival is expected to be held annually to bring Vietnam’s southern metropolis closer to international friends, and tighten the friendship and cooperation between Vietnam in general and Ho Chi Minh City in particular with countries worldwide, including Portugal, he added.

Porto Mayor Rui Moreira highlighted the potential for Vietnam and Portugal to intensify their cooperation, as well as their good will in strengthening the bilateral trade ties.

The official expressed his hope that the festival will contribute to consolidating the relations between Porto and Vietnamese localities, while promoting new strengths in the areas that have great economic, scientific and environmental potential.

Vietnamese Ambassador to France and Portugal Dinh Toan Thang said festival goers should use the occasion to establish new partnerships, consolidate existing relations and build long-term friendship.

The highlight of the festival was an economic cooperation forum organised by the Investment and Trade Promotion Centre of HCM City, with the participation of more than 100 business representatives from HCM City, Porto and neighbouring European countries, along with Vietnamese trade counselors.

The participants looked into the business environment in the two cities, raised proposals to their leaders, and explored cooperation opportunities.

Apart from various performances by Vietnamese and Portuguese artists, the festival also introduces Vietnamese agricultural products, handicrafts, traditional costumes and folk games, and features a photo exhibition capturing HCM City’s development and integration./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Vietnam Dance Week 2023 was officially launched on July 15 with the preliminary round – the 24-second video challenge, reported the Vietnam Dance Artists’ Association (VDAA) the same day.

Activities during the country’s annual biggest dance event, including a folk dance competition and an international dance festival, will take place in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City from July 15 to October 29.

Co-organised by the association, the Hanoi municipal Department of Culture and Sports, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Culture and Sports, the management board of Hanoi Thong Nhat park and Kinh Ky Foundation media company, the event is open to all professional and amateur artists living in Vietnam, including foreigners, who could compete in four age categories of 6-9, 10-18, above 18, and above 50.

In the folk dance competition, the preliminary round is underway from July 15-17 while the semi-final is slated for September 22 on an online format, and the final in the south from October 19-22 and in the north from October 26-29./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Ferdinand E. Marcos (FEM) Memorial Stadium in this city has been shortlisted for the World Architecture Festival (WAF) to be held from Nov. 29 to Dec. 1 at the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. WAF is the largest global live awards event for architects and designers, according to its website. Under the sport-completed buildings category, the newly-rehabilitated stadium, which is one of the ‘Big 3’ projects of the Ilocos Norte government, will be presented live in Singapore during the event. ‘We are delighted to share that our project has been shortlisted for world arch fest in the World Architecture Festival. Another milestone in our push for a more open and barrier-free social architecture,’ architect William Ti, the consulting architect of the FEM stadium, said in a statement on Tuesday. The internationally awarded urban planner said the Marcos Stadium’s exterior walls carried the motif of an ‘abel,” a popular Ilocano handwoven cloth. It features the ‘binakol’ or whirlwind pattern, rendered in a supersized scale and easily identifiable through its uniform interconnecting geometric design. The international award-giving body Architizer A+ first noticed the stadium earlier this year. According to its website, ‘Architizer’s Special Mention honorees are regarded as a worldwide industry leader for architecture and design.” The award validates superior work and gives well-deserved recognition to the people behind such architectural masterpieces. Among the thousands of projects submitted, less than 5 percent are chosen as Special Mention honorees, the Architizer A+ website said. The new stadium has a seating capacity of more than 12,000, occupying around 43,820 square meters of land, and is now becoming a favorite go-to place for runners and sports-enthusiast. The stadium features an open southern end, which includes an outdoor amphitheater and a sloping lawn that leads to the university belt. As the Ilocos Region’s largest public space, the stadium is being lobbied by the Ilocos Norte government as the possible venue for the 2025 Palarong Pambansa to further promote the province’s world-class facility and boost its sports tourism program here and abroad

Source: Philippines News agency