VietNamNet Bridge – Streets of Buon Me Thuot city in Vietnam’s Central Highlands were very excited for the first-ever parade on the afternoon of March 12.

This is part of the ongoing biennial Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Festival, taking place between March 10 and 15.

Festival goers flocked to March 10 Square amid the slightly cold, windy weather in sun wept Buon Ma Thuot, where coffee plants were in full white bloom along National Highway 14 and Provincial Road No1 leading up to Yok Don National Park.

Themed “A Tribute to Coffee”, the ceremony highlighted scores of performances rich in the Central Highlands culture, including the festival symphony of drums and traditional percussion instruments, a dancing pageant by ethnic performers in tribute to the basalt land, and a coffee flower procession.

The festival highlighted the central role coffee plants play in the socio-economic development of the province and contributes to the nation’s coffee industry. Vietnam is the world’s second largest coffee exporter.

Speaking at the grand ceremony, provincial People’s Committee chairman Lu Ngoc Cu said the coffee industry in Dak Lak and Vietnam was confirming the status of the country’s products and trademark on the international market.

This festival, recognized as a national festival, aimed to promote and introduce Buon Ma Thuot and Vietnamese-made coffee products to the world market, he said.

The first ever elephant and dugout canoe race was held last week beside Lak Lake in Lak District, while more than 160 foreign and domestic coffee firms showcased their technology, products and services at a fair and exhibition that opened last Thursday at the provincial museum.

Some 10,000 exhibits for a coffee museum are on display and an artistic photo exhibition on Dak Lak coffee and tourism as well as the history of coffee plantations is being showcased at the provincial museum complex.

The festival also hosted a seminar concerning the sustainable development of Buon Ma Thuot coffee yesterday, which was attended by local and foreign coffee experts, importers and associations from Brazil, Columbia, Indonesia, Ethiopia and Vietnam.

As part of the festival, the 24th Charming Vietnam, one of the largest musical galas in Viet Nam and is themed “Legend of Coffee”, was held at the Trung Nguyen Coffee Village in Buon Ma Thuot City on March 13 and 14.

During the festival, visitors also had the chance to drink coffee free of charge and join tours that will visit coffee plantations and tourist sites throughout the province.

With more than 300,000ha of basalt land under coffee cultivation, Dak Lak produced 400,000 tons of coffee for domestic consumption and export last year. The industry has generated jobs for 400,000 local laborers.

Vietnam has cultivated 500,000ha of land for coffee plantations and last year exported more than 1 million tons for a revenue of US$1.7 billion.

The street festival in pictures:

Source: VNS/VNE