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Artists from the Dao Tan Tuong Theater rehearse to prepare for the opening of the festival |
The 2008 Tay Son-Binh Dinh Festival will be organized impressively from August 1-3 and most activities of this festival will take place in the city of Quy Nhon (the city’s trade center, the Thi Nai Bridge, and the Ghenh Rang area). Some activities will take place in nearby areas such as the Quang Trung Museum, the Hoang De citadel, Cham towers, the Nhon Hoi Economic Zone, the Nui Ba Relic complex, and along Quy Nhon – Song Cau route. The festival will reflect the sporting spirit as well as distinctive cultural, historical, economic and tourism features of Binh Dinh province.
The opening ceremony of the festival will be organized in the form of an art performance program based on the theme of the festival: “Integration and Development.” All the art performances at the opening ceremony will be related to each other in content and they will tell the audience about the nation’s traditions as well as the beauty of nature and the culture of Binh Dinh people. These performances will also help the audience understand the potential of Binh Dinh’s economy and the rhythm of its growth.
At the opening ceremony of the festival, art troupes from different parts of the country will be present and give performances. These include troupes from Hanoi (Thang Long), Hue (Phu Xuan), Gia Lai (Tay Son thuong dao), Tien Giang (Rach Gam – Xoai Mut), and Ho Chi Minh City (Gia Dinh).
In the square in front of the Quy Nhon Trade Center, during the festival, there will be art performances given by troupes of Binh Dinh and other provinces/cities and some foreign countries. These will include tuong and bai choi performances (Binh Dinh), the court arts of Hue, the Cham arts (Ninh Thuan), Vietnamese songs, dances and music, puppetry, circus, performances by artists from Bong Sen Troupe (Ho Chi Minh City), the Hai Dang Troupe (Khanh Hoa), and the Dam San Troupe (Gia Lai).
There will be an activity that is expected to attract a large number of visitors – the international festival of traditional martial arts. This activity will gather martial art clubs of various schools of traditional martial arts in Vietnam and in the world. Martial arts competitions will be organized to introduce traditional schools of martial arts, especially the Tay Son martial arts that Binh Dinh people have inherited and are developing.
A beauty contest will also be organized during the 2008 Tay Son-Binh Dinh Festival to honor the physical beauty as well as the intelligence, talent and humanity of Binh Dinh women in particular and Vietnamese women in general.
In areas at the two ends of the Thi Nai Bridge, which links the city of Quy Nhon to the Nhon Hoi Economic Zone, there will be exciting cultural and artistic activities. These areas will be ornamented with flower garlands and colored lanterns to serve performances given by famous singers from domestic and international troupes. The festival will be wrapped up with fireworks.
Binh Dinh is the motherland of Dao Tan (a famous scenarist of tuong – a form of traditional Vietnamese theatrical arts) and therefore the 2008 Tay Son – Binh Dinh Festival will gather a troupe of the Central Tuong Theater and local tuong troupes of Da Nang, Khanh Hoa, Ho Chi Minh City, Hue, Thanh Hoa and other provinces. They will give performances to introduce tuong dramas written by Dao Tan and general features of the Vietnamese tuong art.
The organizing board of the 2008 Tay Son-Binh Dinh Festival said that during this event, some activities will be organized to introduce products of traditional handicraft villages of Binh Dinh and other provinces in the region (for example Bau Da wine, Nhon Hau ceramics, Phuong Danh forgings, Bang Chau – Kim Chau bronze castings, Go Gang conical hats, Chuong Hoa sedge mats…). There will be about 150 stalls displaying household utensils, fined handicrafts, garments, and forest products.
Coming to the Tay Son – Binh Dinh Festival, visitors will also have a chance to take tours to historical and cultural relics and many beautiful places in Binh Dinh province where they can enjoy special kinds of food prepared by local people. Traditional kinds of food such as Bau Da wine, Phu My shrimp noodles, Cho Huyen spring rolls, and Quy Nhon fish noodles will surely make visitors feel satisfied.
During the 2008 Tay Son – Binh Dinh Festival, in the city of Quy Nhon some activities will also take place, including reading poems written by Han Mac Tu and Xuan Dieu, performing songs of Trinh Cong Son, a workshop on the potential and actual situation of Binh Dinh’s tourism, and entertainment activities.
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