(VOVworld) – The 2016 Hung Kings Temple Festival will be held in Phu Tho province, commemorating the Hung Kings’ death anniversary on the 10th day of the 3rd lunar month (April 16th).
A Chung cake (square sticky rice cake) and Giay cake (round sticky rice cake) contest is held annually. The two winning teams will have the honor of making these 2 types of cake to offer to the Hung Kings at next year’s festival.
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| Locals participate in Chung cake and Giay cake contest. (Photo: VNA) |
On Wednesday, 100 teenagers show off in Viet Tri city, Phu Tho province, at a singing competition of Xoan, a local folk music performed in the first months of a lunar year.
The Phu Tho provincial Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism published a DVD featuring 10 ancient Xoan songs performed by young artists. Their performance was recorded at traditional spaces which host rituals using Xoan songs. Chief organizer Ha Ke San said: “This DVD differs from previous publications in which Xoan is sung by young people who are responsible for preserving Xoan singing for future generations. The media provides the easiest way for foreigners to learn about Vietnam. This is part of an effort to get UNESCO to reclassify Xoan singing, now a world intangible cultural heritage in need of urgent protection, as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity.”
Festival goers will see artifacts highlighting different cultures of different regions, such as Khanh Son rock gongs of Khanh Hoa province and a couple of 400-year-old wooden vases that weigh a ton. The festival will include a photo exhibit featuring relic sites, ceramic products made by the artisans of Bat Trang village, Hanoi, and bronze products made by the smelters of Phu Tho province. Art performances will embellish the festival.