Phan Thiet fun for Tet

A traditional boat race on Ca Ty River in Phan Thiet City - Photo: Khai Nguyen

Phan Thiet has announced the cultural and sports events for this year’s Lunar New Year 2011.

From Jan. 30 until Feb. 8 (the 27th of the 12th lunar month until the sixth of the first lunar month) there are numerous music performances, sports activities, folk games and lion dances at most of the province’s 18 wards.

Bien Xanh theater group will hold special music galas in the communes of Tien Thanh, Phong Nam and Thien Nghiep. Tien Loi – Tien Thanh Tourist Area will have a fireworks display on Lunar New Year’s Eve. After the 15-minute fireworks, a music performance named “Chao Xuan” (Welcoming the Spring) will be held at Nga Bay Stage and a music gala at Nguyen Tat Thanh Square.

The traditional boat race on Ca Ty River will be on the second of the first lunar month and the Mui Ne sand hill run will be on the forth of the first lunar month. At resorts and hotels in Phan Thiet, there’re banquets to welcome Lunar New Year, folk music performances, lion dances, Cham dances and traditional martial arts.

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Farmers diary show explores rural/urban divide

A man looking at a basket of rice at the exhibition by artist Phan Quang at Galerie Quynh - Photo: My Tran

An art exhibition called ‘A Farmer’s Diary” by Phan Quang opened last night at the Galerie Quynh, 65 De Tham Street, District 1, HCMC.

The exhibition is supported by the gallery’s Emerging Artists Program, which was initiated in 2009 to give young Vietnamese artists a platform to present experimental work and develop their practice through critical discourse.

Comprising two site-specific installations, a time-lapse video and digital c-prints, A Farmer’s Diary is a photographic project that Phan started last year.

Images of both the countryside and city pervade his work. Attempting to reconcile urban and rural divides and highlight Vietnam’s accelerated socio-economic development, the artist presents a body of work that weaves his personal experiences with fictive scenarios.

The resulting images oscillate between dreamscapes and reality. Born in the farming community of Binh Dinh but now living and working in HCMC, he is the embodiment of the blurred boundaries between the city and the countryside. “I was born in countryside and many my relatives still work in rice fields, so images of farmers and immense rice fields never fade from my memory,” said Phan Quang.

The exhibition runs till October 30.

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Cham festivities liven up Phan Thiet next month

A file photo shows a traditional dance of Cham people at Po Sah Inu Tower in Phan Thiet City at the Kate Festival - Photo: Khai Nguyen

Preparations have begun for the annual Kate Festival of Cham people next month in Phan Thiet with processions, spirit rituals and lots of food, culture and fun.

At Po Sah Inu Tower in Phan Thiet City on October 6, 7 the highlights of the festival include traditional rituals such as a palanquin procession with costumes of Poh Sah Inu goddess and the Tong on ceremony that chases away poisonous winds. According to the Cham these winds can cause diseases and bring bad luck to families.

Other events include ethnic music and dance shows and Vietnamese cake making contests banh tet (cylindrical glutinous rice cake filled with green bean paste and fatty pork) and banh gung (ginger cake).  Traditional brocade and ceramic exhibitions, folk games and other activities like the tug of war will make it a fun day for all the family.

For anyone interested to learn more about Cham crafts, there will be brocade and ceramic workshops, classes with ethnic musical instruments and talks about traditional rituals.

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Have a whale of a time at Phan Thiet festival

A traditional dance show at the Nghinh Ong De Quan Festival in Phan Thiet City on Monday - Photo: Khai Nguyen

Nghinh Ong Quan Thanh Festival (Whale Worship Festival) had a jubilant start on Monday at Ong Pagoda in the coastal city of Phan Thiet.

After joining in early celebrations early on Sunday morning at Thien Mau Pagoda, thousands from the local and Chinese communities flocked to Ong Pagoda to join the rituals, ceremonies and palanquin processions. Other activities included music shows, traditional dance performances and dramas re-enacting legends of Buddhism and folklores.

On Tuesday in temples around Phan Thiet, locals will continue rituals and an artistic program to worship skeletons of whales and pray for a good harvest and a better life. They will also hold a colorful lantern display and offering ceremony and release paper boats in the sea.

 The highlight of the festival is the Quan Thanh De Quan procession with about 800 people accompanied with many folk performers on the city’s main streets. Performers walk on stilts, do dragon dances, and dress as religious characters.

The traditional Chinese festival goes for three days and is held once every two years.

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