Lucky Luke comic book welcomed in Vietnam

On March 16 the Tri Viet publishing house, First News, officially debuted a set of comic books called Lucky Luke, a Franco-Belgian comic book series translated into Vietnamese.

The books are illustrated by Belgian painter Morris and have become one of the world’s best sellers since it was first published in 1946.

The books consist of 80 volumes featuring Lucky Luke, a cowboy known to shoot faster than his shadow.

The books (sized 20.5cm x 28.5cm) are sold nationwide at a cost of VND24.700 (about 1 EUR).

Ninh Thuan to host int’l sculpture camp

An international stone sculpture composing camp will open in the Southcentral Coastal province of Ninh Thuan on April 16, says the Ninh Thuan provincial Department for Culture, Sports, and Tourism.

Since the camp was launched a month ago, the Organising Board has received 126 sketches by 41 Vietnamese and foreign sculptors and 51 sketches have been selected to be built at the camp, which is themed “Ninh Thuan – destination of the future”.

Once completed, scultural works made of granite and marble will be displayed at the Binh Son – Ninh Chu Sea Park, the Sixteenth of April Square, and the Ninh Thuan Party Committee Guest House.

The camp is aimed at promoting friendship between Vietnam and countries from all over the world. It is also considered a good chance for Ninh Thuan to attract more investors and talented people to the province.

International Choir Festival opens in Hoi An

The first International Choir Festival kicked off at the Hoai River Square in the ancient town of Hoi An in the central province of Quang Nam on March 16.

The four-day event attracted the participation of nearly 1,000 artists from more than 30 choirs from Vietnam, Estonia, Malaysia, Hong Kong (China), Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the Philippines.

They are mostly performing folksongs with the aim of showcasing their cultural identities and promoting global cultural exchange.

Exhibition recounts daily life in Saigon

An exhibition titled “In a City” featuring stories, photographs and videos about everyday life in Saigon is now open at the Ho Chi Minh City Exhibition House.

The exhibition, held by the HCMC British Council, was inspired by James Joyce’s 1914 classic, “Dubliners,” a collection of 15 short stories about middle class life in the Irish capital city.

In 2009, an exhibition featuring 18 “stories” about Hanoi was also held in the Vietnamese capital.

For its part, the Saigon exhibition showcases 17 “stories” about HCMC at the turn of the 21st century as told by three teams of writers and photographers.

The “stories” are grouped into 6 topics: Coffee, Bach Dang Port, the Apartment, Acting Career, Upstream, and He and She.

The exhibition is open until March 24 at the HCMC Exhibition House, 92 Le Thanh Ton, District 1.

International Boat Racing Festival kicks off in Binh Thuan

The International Boat Racing Festival 2011 officially opened at Hon Rom beach in Phan Thiet City in the southern province of Binh Thuan on March 17.

The festival titled “Boat, Sea and Sun” attracted 20 sailing groups, including some strong contenders from Russia, Netherlands, Sweden, US, Italy, Greece, Spain and Japan.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan described Binh Thuan Province as an ideal tourist destination for sea sports.This is the first festival of its kind ever held in Vietnam, creating new opportunities for Binh Thuan Province and Vietnam as a whole, to develop sea tourism and water sports.

He added that Binh Thuan should increase economic activities and build a roadmap to attract foreign investors.

During the 4 day festival from March 17-20, there will be four evening Pop & Rock Gala music events with participating singers from Russia, Australia, Austria and Czech Republic.

A science seminar on building Vietnam’s sea trade will also be held by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.

Ha Long Bay slips two-year low on world ranking

Vietnam’s bid to name Ha Long Bay as one of the new 7 world wonders is lagging behind as the iconic bay is now ranked near bottom following a recent accident killing 11 foreign tourists there.

The country’s most famous tourist spot has dropped 18 notches to rank 22nd, the lowest ranking in the two years since it was nominated to be one of the world’s New Seven Wonders of Nature.

Just last month, a boat sunk there, killing 11 foreign tourists from 7 countries and 1 Vietnamese national.

Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994 for its outstanding, universal aesthetic value, Ha Long Bay was nominated in 2009 by the New Seven Wonders Foundation to compete against other famous natural attractions such as the US’s Grand Canyon or the Dead Sea of Israel.

Running as one of the 28 finalists selected after wining the first two rounds of the competition since July 2009, Ha Long Bay had always remained in the top 5.

Last month, Vietnam’s Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism unveiled a plan to attract more votes for Ha Long Bay nation-wide and internationally.

New Seven Wonders Foundation is a Swiss-based organization established in 2001.

In 2007, it launched a similar project to choose new Seven man-made Wonders of The World, which was claimed to attract more than 100 million votes at the time.

The winners of this year’s poll will be announced on this November 11.

Miss Vietnam fails to reach top 3 at HTV Awards

Contrary to expectation, Miss Vietnam 2006 Mai Phuong Thuy did not make it to the top 3 Best actresses at the HTV Awards 2011 as announced last Monday.

The three top spots belong to young actresses Minh Hang, Van Trang and Le Be La.

Thuy acted in TV series Am Tinh (Negative) where she played the role of a poor school girl who caught with HIV/AIDS. The tall beauty was not afraid to lose her image taking this role.

However, her efforts only helped her stay in top 5 of the HTV Awards.

Van Trang, nominated for her role in Loi Song Sai Lam (Wrong Lifestyle), is said to a big candidate for the award as she is an outstanding actress not only in TV series but also in movies.

She recently starred in Co Dau Dai Chien (Battle of the brides).

Van Trang also received three awards in the Miss ASEAN TV Charming competition held in Ho Chi Minh City in March this year.

In the best actor category is the competition among Khuong Ngoc in Giac mo cua bien (The ocean’s dream), Hoa Hien in Cong mat troi (The sun gate) and Huynh Dong in Vo ngua troi nam (Horses in the south).

Huynh Dong has the most advantage as he recently received the Best Actor at this year’s Golden Kite Awards.

In the next stage from March 14 to April 4, audience will vote for their favorite artists. The HTV Awards ceremony will take place on April 4 at the HTV Theater and will be broadcast live on HTV 9.

HTV Awards is an annual event organized by the Ho Chi Minh City Television since 2006 to honor local artists who have outstanding achievements in movies, music and comedies.

HCMC orchestra to perform fusion ballet

The Ho Chi Minh City Ballet and Symphony Orchestra will perform a chamber music and ballet concert Saturday titled “Monsoons” at the Opera House.

Ballet suite “Monsoons,” choreographed by Ha The Dung, chairman of the HCMC dancers association, will be a fusion of European classical music and contemporary ballet.

“Contemporary ballet is more realistic and its moves express people’s moods and thoughts about their lives,” Dung said.

Cellists, violists, and pianists from the Orchestra will perform sonatas at the concert.

Tickets costing VND250,000 are available at the theater.

Khanh Hoa earmarks $200,000 to restore relics

The Khanh Hoa Province people’s committee has approved a program to restore and upgrade historic and cultural relics at a cost of more than VND4 billion (US$200,000).

The grave of General Binh Tay Trinh Phong, the leader of the Can Vuong movement against the French in 1885-86, will be restored at a cost of VND347 million.

Reconstruction of the 122 year-old Vinh Xuong Temple of Literature in Phuong Son ward will cost almost VND2 billion since it was demolished and its artifacts were sold by local authorities. The province spent more than VND 220 million to buy some of them back.

A statue of Swiss Professor Alexandre Émile Jean Yersin will be installed at A.Yersin Park in Nha Trang at a cost of VND2 billion.

Dr Alexandre Yersin (1863-1943) founded Nha Trang’s Pasteur Institute in 1895. He was probably the Frenchman most loved by the Vietnamese. Born in Switzerland, he came to Vietnam in 1889 after working under Louis Pasteur in Paris.

Hanoi’s “survival and loss” through photos

Vietnamese painter Le Thiet Cuong and Swedish sociologist Eva Lindskogs are holding a joint photo exhibition titled “Hanoi: What has survived, what has lost” at Cuong’s gallery in Hanoi on March 18-28.

The Swedish sociologist brings to the exhibition 20 black and white photos captured on Kodak film, culled from 800 photos she took in Vietnam from 1975 to 1989.

The Vietnamese painter, on the other hand, chooses to display 20 color photos of Vietnam he captured on his Canon 5D Mark II digital camera from 1997 to 2010.

The exhibition opens at 4:30 p.m. on March 18 and will run through to the end of March 28 at 39 Ly Quoc Su.

Before this exhibition, the two have worked together on many projects, including the publication of 300 photo books (size 28×20cm) showcasing many other pictures they took of Hanoi.

In 2007 they held a joint photo exhibition titled “Vietnam 80-00″ (Vietnam from 1980 to 2000) at Cuong’s gallery, which exhibition was later displayed at Vietnam’s Museum of Ethnology in December 2009.

Danang Fireworks tickets will sell out, organizers say

Tickets for Danang International Fireworks Competition 2011 (DIFC 2011) will sell out quickly in Danang, Hanoi and HCMC, according to the Danang People’s Committee.

The tickets that cost VND200,000 from official outlets in HCMC, Hanoi and at five outlets in Danang City won’t be available for long, the committee said.

Danang’s outlets include the Department of Culture, Sport and Tourism, the Nguyen Hien Dinh Classical Drama Theatre, the Trung Vuong Theatre, the Tourism Promotion Center and Viet Art Join-stock Company. There is only one outlet each in HCMC and Hanoi.

The annual fire works extravaganza on the Han River, Danang City will run for two nights on April 29 and 30 with the theme” Sparkling Han River”. The competition has five teams, four international teams from England, Korea, Italy and China and host Vietnam.

River parades, floating flower garlands and colored lanterns on the Han River, the Non Nuoc stone exhibitions, a photo display from the show last year, beach sports, music and fashion shows will also be part of the festival.

Phu Yen holds mountain climb race

Fifteen teams from Vietnam and around the Mekong region will compete in the first Da Bia mountain climb race in Phu Yen Province on March 27.

The teams will come from Central Vietnam, the Central Highlands, Hanoi, HCMC, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia. Each delegation consists of six athletes (three males and three females).

The course ends at the top of the 706-meter-high Da Bia Mountain in Dong Hoa District in Phu Yen Province.

The race is one of the activities of National Tourism Year 2011 in the central coastal region.

Pop art meets fashion in celebrity photo exhibition

A photography exhibition named “Superstyle” by David Lachapelle with Tuan Nguyen and Yu Nguyen will open at the Bui Gallery, 23 Ngo Van So Street in Hanoi from March 18 to May 15.

Visitors to the show can enjoy iconic images, depicting celebrities in fashionable costumes with theatrics.

As one of the pioneers of Pop Art, LaChapelle uses iconic images of American celebrities and places them into what he describes as ‘film stills’. Using extravagant setups, costumes and all the theatrics of a play, LaChapelle creates a narrative in his photographs.

Not to be missed are the fashion editorials of Vietnamese photographers, Yu Nguyen and Tuan Nguyen. Yu and Tuan’s work is a window into the ever growing Vietnamese appreciation of fashion and idealization of luxury. They will show photos of Vietnamese models and singers. The highlights are photos of supermodel Ha Anh.

The photos roughly follow the development of fashion in Vietnam.

Photo show for Bat Trang tourism week

A photo exhibition called “The Bat Trang village wharf” with 250 photos of Ben Dinh Wharf of the famous pottery village, opened on Monday at the Bat Trang village temple in Gia Lam District, Hanoi.

The event, jointly organized by the Representative Board of Bat Trang Village, Vietnam Architects’ Association and Action Center for City Development, is part of Bat Trang Tourism Week in 2011.

Each photo tells a story about the simple life of people who live around the river wharf. Most of photos were taken by Bat Trang villagers with many by Vietnamese and foreign photographer visitors to the pottery village.

The exhibition will run till March 20.

Bat Trang Village and Ben Dinh Wharf are important heritage sites in Hanoi.