Binh Dinh artists performed a dance at the festival

Nearly 700 athletes, artists coming from 10 provinces in the regions attended the 3-day event in Phu Yen, performing their distinctive art and sport activities. Among them, Binh Dinh brought 63 artists to the festival.

They performed typical shows and folk songs featuring the theme of sea and islands. Performing at the beginning of the opening ceremony, Binh Dinh’s artists left a good impression on the audience with a series of folk songs entitled Bien troi Binh Dinh que toi.

In addition, 28 Binh Dinh fishermen also joined the festival with the performance of cau ngu (praying for a bumper fishing harvest) rituals and ba trao dancing and singing.

“Artists didn’t perform these programs as it was fishermen who experience actual rituals were able to show the programs well,” said director of Binh Dinh’s Culture Centre Dao Minh Tam.

Nguyen Van Long, one of fishermen performing at the festival, said he was really moved when they themselves showed the traditional local rituals in other province, helping people enjoy a unique cultural feature of Binh Dinh. However, it was a pity that the performance only lasted 20 minutes instead of 2 hours.

Other Binh Dinh singers also tried their utmost when singing typical songs of Binh Dinh, such as Hat tu ban dao Phuong Mai (singing from the Phuong Mai peninsula), Sang mai mot tinh yeu Quy Nhon (A forever love for Quy Nhon), and so on. The festival was a chance to popularize works composed by Binh Dinh musicians.

Meeting the demand of local people in other areas in Phu Yen, the festival was also held in districts of Dong Xuan, Son Hoa, and Song Hinh.

The festival is one of activities responding to the National Tourism Year. It aims to popularize the province’s tourism potential and create a link among central provinces and cities serving the target of inter-regional tourism development.

• Sao Ly