Buddha’s Birthday week in Hue city; Tomorrow’s Star 2009 goes to Nguyen Quoc Truong; Hoang The Nhiem’s Four Seasons; Hoi An: 155 relics need urgent restoration; “My Village” circus to appear in Hanoi; Spanish arts at Vietnam Arts Museum

Nguyen Dinh Chieu street for pedestrians along the Huong River is decorated with the Vietnamese flag and Buddhist flags.

The exhibition of Phu Xuan-Hue’s Buddhist cultural heritage opened on March 5 at the Lieu Quan Centre for Buddhist Culture in the central city of Hue, under the Buddha’s Birthday Week celebrations in Hue city from May 2-9.

The exhibition introduces a collection of pictures of ancient tombs and epitaphs from the 17^th-19^th centuries in the central provinces of Quang Tri, Thua Thien-Hue, and Quang Nam of the Vietnam Culture and Art Sub-Institute in Hue city and a collection of ancient ceramic items, statues and paintings on Buddhism of researcher Tran Dinh Son.

The Buddha’s Birthday Week will include the following major activities: a procession of Buddha images from Dieu De Pagoda to Tu Dam Pagoda on May 8; the Buddha’s Birthday great celebration at Tu Dam Pagoda and a performance by flower boats and a lantern release on the Huong River on May 9. Also at Tu Dam Pagoda, there will be a special music show on May 7 and a free vegetarian cooking programme from May 7-9.

Tomorrow’s Star 2009 goes to Nguyen Quoc Truong

The three top winners. From the right: Quoc Bao, Quoc Truong and Hoang Oanh.

The final night of the “Tomorrow’s Star 2009”, an acting contest held by the HCM City Cinema Association and HTC Company, took place on May 2 at the Dai Nam tourist site in the southern province of Binh Duong, attracting around 5,000 spectators.

Nguyen Quoc Truong, 21, from Can Tho University, defeated 11 contestants to win the first prize, with a VND30 million bonus. The second and the third prizes went to Nguyen Quoc Bao and Nguyen Trinh Hoang Oanh from HCM City. Nguyen Anh Quang won the Audience’s Prize. Three consolation prizes were also presented by the organising board.

Hoang The Nhiem’s Four Seasons

“The Winter” by Hoang The Nhiem.

A photo exhibition by Hoang The Nhiem entitled “The Welcome of Four Seasons” will close today, May 4, at the HCM City Exhibition House, Le Thanh Ton street, District 1 before going to the Hang Bai Gallery in Hanoi from May 9-15.

The exhibition features hundreds of photos about beautiful landscapes of Vietnam. Besides large-sized photos, there are slide shows on four Samsung TVs.

Hoi An: 155 relics need urgent restoration

According to a survey by the Centre for Management and Preservation of Relics in the ancient city of Hoi An, there are 155 relics in the city that need urgent restoration.

Previously, the centre announced that Hoi An City had 1,360 relics. Among them, 28 are recognised by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as national relics. The authorities of Quang Nam province have decided to preserve and restore 108 relics. There are 932 relics owned by individuals and organisations, accounting for over 84% of the total.

“My Village” circus to appear in Hanoi

The special circus show named “My Village”, invested in by the Vietnam Circus Federation and France’s Scene de la Terre, will appear on the stage of the Hanoi Opera House on May 5 before a three-year world tour.

“My Village” was arranged and performed for the first time in August 2005 at the Central Circus Theatre. The show was re-arranged by the Vietnam Circus Federation and France’s Scene de la Terre to serve foreign audiences during the course of a three-year world tour.

Tickets (VND100,000, VND70,000 and VND50,000) are available at L’Espace, 24 Trang Tien, Hanoi Opera House, 1 Trang Tien and the Central Circus Theatre, 27 Tran Nhan Tong.

Spanish arts at Vietnam Arts Museum

“The House of Poem” by Alberto Corazon.

Thirty 30 artworks by Alberto Corazon, the pioneer of the concept art movement in Spain, are on display at the Vietnam Arts Museum. This is a collection of Corazon’s paintings and sculptural works from 1968-2008.

The exhibition is organised by the Valencia Modern Arts Institute, the Spanish Embassy in Vietnam and the Vietnam Arts Museum from May 5-15 at 56 Nguyen Thai Hoc, Hanoi.

The Valencia Modern Arts Institute was set up in 1986 as the first contemporary art museum in Spain and one of the most prestigious art museums in Europe. It attracts over 600,000 visitors per year.

PV