Exhibition to feature artworks and literature; TV series offers educational methods to teach children; Fireworks festival to be held on capital’s birthday; Int’l workshop on Hanoi’s millennium

Exhibition to feature artworks and literature

An exhibition of art and literature about Thang Long-Hanoi will be held from October 1 to 10 at the Vietnam Culture and Arts Exhibition Centre in Hanoi to celebrate the capital’s 1000th anniversary, announced the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The event will draw the participation of many literature and arts associations such as the Vietnam Writer’s Association, the Vietnam Fine Arts Association, the Vietnam Association of Architects, the Vietnam Cinematography Association and the Vietnam Songwriter’s Association. Each association will exhibit 100 of their typical works, newspapers, and magazines published from 2005 to 2010.

The exhibition will also display research works on literature and art about Thang Long – Hanoi by researchers and authors who won Ho Chi Minh Awards and noble awards from the State and abroad.

Many activities will also be held during the event, including poetry and music programmes, film screening on Hanoi, a seminar on the architecture of Thang Long- Hanoi, and performances of ‘Quan Ho Bac Ninh’ singing (Bac Ninh folk love duets) and Ca Tru (ceremonial singing).

TV series offers educational methods to teach children

The favorite “My loving children” TV show that not only entertains but educates young viewers has been adapted into a 52-episode TV series by the channel 3 of the national television.

The show was one of the most highly regarded children’s programs of 2009, aired on VTV3.

For the film every 7-minute episode contains interesting and exciting stories about Bo, 7 year-old little intelligent boy and his father, Nam, offers methods to teach children.

The series will begin broadcasting at 7.55 pm this Sunday on VTV3 and repeat on VTV1 at the same time on following Saturday.

Fireworks festival to be held on capital’s birthday

A fireworks festival will be held at My Dinh national stadium on October 10 as part of the cultural and artistic night to mark the Thang Long-Hanoi millennium anniversary.

According to deputy chief of the Hanoi People’s Committee Office Do Dinh Hong, the city has approved the festival, which will feature an artistic fireworks performance in combination with high-tech sound and light, creating impressive images.

The performance will be held jointly by the Investment, Trade and International Service Ltd. Co. and Singaporean Glorious Group and will be broadcast live on the night of October 10.

Int’l workshop on Hanoi’s millennium

An international workshop on millennium Hanoi – the capital city in the past and future will take place in Hanoi on October 12-13 in the lead-up to the celebrations of the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi.

The two-day event, which will be jointly held by the Vietnam Urban Planning and Development Association (VUPDA) and the University of Hawaii’s Globalisation Research Centre (GRC), is expected to attract scholars, planners, employees from the state and private sectors as well as from non-governmental organisations.

The workshop will study the capital city in the past, consider a future scenario and make plans for urbansisation – a global phenomena.

It is expected to help the city’s authorities to make effective decisions for its further development.

Int’l Tourism Festival to mark Hanoi’s millennial anniversary

An International Tourism Festival will be held at Hanoi’s Bao Son Paradise Theme Park from October 2-5 to celebrate the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi and National Tourism Year 2010.

During the festival, there will be a trade fair with 315 booths representing150 domestic and foreign businesses and a wide range of cultural and sports activities, including music and dance performances, folk games, human chess, and street festivals.

Visitors will have the chance to see Hanoi artisans demonstrate how to make handicrafts, mainly by hand.

The organising board is also planning a tourism conference to promote famous tourist destinations in Hanoi and other Vietnamese provinces and cities.

Seminar talks Buddhism under Ly dynasty

Buddhism under the Ly dynasty (1009-1225) was a special cultural heritage of Vietnam, said the Director of the Vietnam Buddhist Research Institute’s Hanoi branch.

The Most Venerable Thich Thanh Due said at a seminar on “Buddhism under the Ly dynasty with 1000-year Thang Long-Hanoi” in Hanoi on July 29.

The event, co-organised by the Buddhist Institute and the Institute for Religious Studies under the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, forms part of the Buddhist Week, to herald the millennium anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi.

The cleric affirmed that Buddhism under the Ly dynasty became one of the most important spiritual elements in the course of liberation and development of an independent and self-reliant Dai Viet – the former name of Vietnam.

He said Buddhism under the Ly dynasty laid the first brick for the building of Vietnam’s own Buddhism in the 11th century before becoming a unified faith and flourishing in the end of the 13th century and early 14th century.

Under that dynasty, Buddhism’s influences have been seen in the building of Van Mieu ( Temple of Literature ), which was Vietnam ’s first university, the opening of schools and the development of a contingent of scholars, they said.

At this seminar, the participants continued to assess the religion’s contributions to the country’s development in a scientific and objective manner.

They also discussed ways and means to promote good values of Vietnamese Buddhism in the course of industrialisation and modernisation.

US embassy announces free screenings of teen films

The 2008 teen mega-hit “Twilight” will be shown for free on August 27 at the American Center in Hanoi Four American teen movies, including Oscar-winner “Breaking Away” and mega-hit “Twilight,” will be shown free in Hanoi next month.

The screenings are part of a series of cultural events to be held at the American Center by the US embassy in August, which will also include talks and discussions at the center’s English club and book club.

The first screening, on August 6, will be that of “Breaking Away,” a heart-warming coming-of-age story about a top-notch cyclist and his three friends who challenge local college boys in their town’s annual bike race.

The film, released in 1979, won an Academy Award for Best Screenplay.

It will be followed a week later by “American Teen,” a 2008 documentary that follows the lives of four teenagers — a jock, a popular girl, an artsy girl, and a geek — in a small town in Indiana through their senior year at high school.

It portrays American teens’ insecurities, cliques, jealousies, first loves and heartbreaks, and their struggle to make decisions about the future.

The schedule will continue with the 2008 romantic comedy “Another Cinderella Story,” on August 20, a modern-day fairytale featuring Disney teen star Selena Gomez.

The last Friday of the month, August 27, will feature the 2008 blockbuster “Twilight,” the film adaptation of the first book of a series of four teenage romance novels by American author Stephenie Meyer.

The film tells the story of a teenage girl who finds herself in mortal danger after falling in love with a 104-year-old vampire.

Passes to the screenings, all at 2pm, can be obtained at http://creator.zoho.com/pashanoi/form/10.

Hanoi prepares for 1000th anniversary

Hanoi People’s Committee Chairman Nguyen The Thao on Thursday asked the municipal Department of Construction to strengthen decoration and lighting work in the downtowns in order to make the capital city brighter and more splendid during its 1,000th birthday celebrations.

Areas to be decorated include the surroundings of Hoan Kiem Lake, the headquarters of the municipal Party and People’s Committees, the Ly Thai To Flower Garden, the Ba Dinh Political Center, the Hanoi Friendship Culture Palace, the Temple of Literature, the Thong Nhat Park, the Thien Quang Lake and the My Dinh National Stadium.

Roads such as Nguyen Thai Hoc-Kim Ma, Thanh Nien, Pho Hue city - Hang Bai, Ba Trieu, Ngo Quyen, Tran Khat Chan - Dai Co Viet - Xa Dan and Trang Tien - Trang Thi - Dien Bien Phu will be lighted up under the theme of 1,000 years of Hanoi’s culture.

The Department of Construction was urged to select Hanoi’s symbols, including the dragon of Ly dynasty, Khue Van Cac (Pavilion of Literature) and Mot Cot (one-pillar) Pagoda, to decorate gateway routes to the city such as Nguyen Chi Thanh - Tran Duy Hung, Lang Ha-Le Van Luong, An Duong Vuong - Au Co - Nghi Tam, Bac Thang Long - Pham Van Dong - Pham Hung, Gia Phong, Nguyen Trai, Xuan Thuy - Cau Giay and Vinh Tuy, Chuong Duong, Long Bien and Thang Long Bridges.

Thao also asked the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism to use the models of posters for propaganda work and mobilize all resources to promote the image of the capital city.

The department is responsible for guiding districts, towns and units to hang banners, slogans and flags reasonably in each area, road and street, ensuring the safety and beauty of the city, he said.

All jobs must be completed before August 20, he noted.

PV