The festival is held annually to welcome the spring and to honour ethnic communities’ identity, promote solidarity among them and offer a traditional festive atmosphere to tourists as well.
Some 100 representatives of 15 ethnic groups from 13 localities throughout the country will host activities each day during the month.
The festival climax will be on February 11 and 12 with the Kate Festival of the Cham group, tree planting, folk cham do ho singing and performing Xoe Thai – a UNESCO recognised intangible cultural heritage of humanity.
The Kate Festival is one of the biggest and most unique cultural activities of the Cham. It features a host of activities and ceremonies at ancient towers, with traditions including offerings to ancestors, musical performances, and the signing of hymns praising kings who were prominent in the building and development of the Champa Kingdom and the Cham people.
Tree planting has become an annual Vietnamese custom each Lunar New Year since President Ho Chi Minh initiated the campaign, contributing to environmental protection, socio-economic development, and national defence and security.
Since then, tree planting has been practised whenever a lunar new year comes. It will take place over half an hour at the Thai ethnic village.
Some 60 Thai artists from the northern province of Son La will perform Xee Thai. The dance expresses the solidarity, democracy and collectiveness of the Thai people.
The group dance xoe at spring festivals, crop festival and weddings, which has been considered a cultural symbol of the northwest region.
Xoe Thai performances will begin at 2.30pm on February 11 and 9.30 and 2.30pm on February 12. There will be folk games, traditional dishes, typical delicacies of various ethnic groups and folk singing and dancing.
In addition, visitors to the festival can enjoy and learn how to cook delicious dishes and specialties and make traditional handicrafts of the groups.
The festival offers an opportunity for ethnic groups to meet and exchange cultural values and daily life activities. It also contributes to honouring and preserving the traditional culture of Vietnamese ethnic minorities.
Sepulchre Statues in the Central Highlands
Located in the cultural space of the Gongs in the Central Highlands, which was recognized as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, sepulchre statues are evaluated as unique masterpieces of the art and spiritual culture of the ethnic groups in the area.
Yen Bai to host world biggest Xoe folk dance
NDO – Under the framework of Muong Lo Cultural and Tourism Festival 2019, 5,000 people will join in a mass performance of a Xoe folk dance, in Yen Bai Province on September 20.
Localities heartened by joyous spring festivals
NDO – Numerous locals and visitors flocked to Ky Phu commune, Nho Quan district, Ninh Binh province, on the opening day of the provincial culture and sports festival on February 16.
Cham people in Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan celebrate Kate Festival
NDO – Thousands of Cham people in the south central provinces of Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan gathered at temples and towers on September 28 to celebrate the traditional festival of Kate.
Unique Vat Cau Festival
The traditional Vat cau festival, which often takes place from January 4th-6th of the lunar calendar, is the most anticipated event of the year for the villagers in Hoang Mai, Hanoi.
