LookAtVietnam – In addition to pilgrimages and adventure tours, discovering culture through culinary festivals can be an interesting experience for travelers. The “My homeland festival”, an annual culinary and culture festival organized by Saigontourist Holding Company,

At the event more than 100 outstanding dishes from the North, the South and center of Vietnam were introduced, including many traditional dishes from Ben Tre, Dong Thap, Tra Vinh and Ba Ria-Vung Tau provinces, to name a few.

Moreover, visitors to the park can enjoy more than 30 Vietnamese wines at Viet Wine House area, and see wine and cocktail making and bartending performances.

The art show is another attraction at the event. Artistic troupes from provinces around the country performed, including the five tones (of the traditional musical scale) band of Khmer people in Soc Trang Province, a performance on bamboo instruments from Buon Don District of Dak Lak Province, Cam dance and Paranung music from Ninh Thuan Province and a gongs troupe from Gia Lai upland province. There were also folk music performances, such as hat cheo, hat tuong (classical drama), Hue city music and the South’s traditional music.

The atmosphere were colorful and animated, depicting the daily life of Vietnamese people in every region; for example there was a real market with street vendors wearing traditional costumes and calling out to attract passers-by. Visitors saw how toys are made from natural materials, such as paper boats and toys made from water coconut leaves and clay, and should not miss the folk games of the many regions. On display in the trade village area were examples of Vietnamese crafts such as basket weaving, ceramics, conical hats, brocade weaving, wine making and rice noodles, especially banh trang (griddle cake) Trang Bang and com dep (green rice) Tra Vinh.

The festival ran from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. last weekend, from Friday to Sunday, at Van Thanh Tourism Park. Tickets are priced at VND140,000 per adult and VND100,000 per child.

Van Thanh Tourism Park is located at 48/10 Dien Bien Phu Street, Binh Thanh District, HCMC. Tel: (08) 3512 3026.

VietNamNet/SGT