VietNamNet Bridge - Several charity concerts will be held in Ho Chi Minh City at the end of the year to raise fund for disadvantaged people.

Canadian Consul General Bill Johnston signs his name on the silk painting Cho que (Countryside market).

A musical performance titled “Light from the heart” will be held at the Ben Thanh Theater to mark the International Day for People with Disabilities on December 3.

The concert, which will be broadcast live on HCMC Television’s HTV9 channel, is being organized by the Ho Chi Minh City Women’s Charity Association, the HCMC Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and HCMC Television.

The also celebrates the 10th anniversary of the Talking Book Library for the Blind. Proceeds from the concert will be used by the library and for school books and scholarships for blind students.

Famous singers will share the stage with students of the Nguyen Dinh Chieu School for the Blind, Hy Vong (Hope) deaf and dumb school and other schools for disabled and disadvantaged students such as Thien An, Bung Sang and Huynh De Nhu Nghia.

The annual HCMC Police Weekly Newspaper show, “Night of a thousand stars”, will take place at Trong Dong Music Club on December 4. The show will feature performances by popular singers such as Thai Chau, Ngoc Son, Dam Vinh Hung, Lam Truong, Thanh Thao and Ho Ngoc Ha. Part of the proceeds will be donated to the newspaper’s fund for building houses for disadvantaged people in the city.

On December 4, a “Christmas melody 2008” concert will be held at the White Palace Convention Center. A day later, the show will be staged at the HCMC Conservatory of Music and on the 6th at the Saigon South International School. The show, jointly organized by the Korean Association and the Consulate General of Canada in Ho Chi Minh City, will raise funds for scholarships for the music institute’s best students.

The event will introduce music lovers to Christmas masterpieces performed by a 55-member Canadian choir, an HCMC international choir. Artists will perform under the baton of Canadian conductor Maestro Simon Leung. Tickets are US$10 each and are available at the Korean Association, 47 Nguyen Cu Trinh Street in District 1.

Meanwhile the Red Cross, Giac Ngo Buddhist newspapers, Binh Duong Province Television’s BTV9 channel, the Viet Anh Charity Fund Raising Center will host a concert to raise funds for building the Giac Hue city Pagoda and supporting Agent Orange/Dioxin victims at the Lan Anh music venue on December 7.

Built 40 years ago in District 8, Giac Hue pagoda has housed many poor and disadvantaged people. Its monks also give free meals to patients in hospitals and nursing homes.

The “Kids and angels – Beauty of the kind hearts” program, which includes activities such as visiting and offering gifts to disadvantaged children in the city and neighboring areas, will be held by Tho Xinh Event and Meeting Planning Company and Anh Hung Communication Company on December 14 and 15. On the 16th, an evening party will be held at Nguyen Du indoor stadium, featuring an exhibition of paintings by disadvantaged children, as well as a fashion and musical show.

The Sai Gon Giai Phong Newspaper’s annual charity concert entitled “The beloved spring” will take place at Lan Anh Music Club on December 28 to raise money for the poor on Tet holidays. There will be an auction of a silk painting entitled Cho que (Countryside market) by painter Nguyen Thi Tam and signed by the consuls of Germany, the U.S., Canada, Russia and more.

(Source: SGGP/TT)