Book Street Festival spreads reading culture
(VOVWORLD) -The 2026 Lunar New Year Book Street Festival, themed “Spring Gathering – Steadfastly Moving Forward,” opened on Sunday afternoon on Le Loi Street (Saigon Ward), New City Park (Binh Duong Ward), and the Revolutionary Tradition House (Vung Tau Ward), in Ho Chi Minh City.
 Visitors at the Lunar New Year Book Street Festival 2026 (Year of the Horse). Photo: Thanh Vu/VNA |
During the weeklong festival there will be more than 80 events and activities, including 15 key stage programs, 20 thematic exhibitions, more than 30 workshops and experiential activities at booths, and about 15 signature programs at the Nguyen Van Binh Book Street and Thu Duc Book Street.
After the opening ceremony, locals and tourists enthusiastically visited the book streets. Tran Thanh Binh, a resident of Ho Chi Minh City, said, "In my opinion, reading culture is better than the internet. The fact that Ho Chi Minh City's Book Street continues like this every year is very encouraging for the city, as it will foster a reading culture among the younger generation."
The festival was enlivened by interactive programs and book signings by beloved authors such as Nguyen Nhat Anh and Xuan Phuong. A calligraphy performance by artist Quang Linh, using a 2.7m long brush on an 8m sheet of paper to create the phrase "Era of Rise" made a strong visual impact on the opening day.
The tradition of giving books as New Year's gifts will continue through the "Book ATM" on Tuesday, the first day of Tet, to encourage reading habits at the beginning of the year and knowledge sharing within the community.