Folk festival to take place in downtown Hanoi

Various folk activities will be on show at the first ever Folk Culture in Contemporary Life Festival in Hanoi this weekend. (Illustrative image. Source: hanoimoi.com.vn)

Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Various folk activities will be on show at the first ever Folk Culture in Contemporary Life Festival this weekend at Ly Thai To Park in downtown Hanoi.

Pham Thi Lan Anh, an official from the Hanoi Department of Culture and  Sports, said products by traditional handicraft villages around the city will be featured at the event, while various folk art forms will be performed between December 13 and 15 including ca tru (ceremonial singing), hat xam (singing by buskers) and folk dances.

The event aims to celebrate Hanoi's new title as it has been named one of 66 new members of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO)’s Network of Creative Cities.

Ceramics of Bat Trang, silk weaving in Van Phuc, bamboo weaving in Phu Vinh and lacquer producing in Ha Thai village will be highlighted.

Folk painting genres like Hang Trong, Kim Hoang, Dong Ho and new paintings made with cloth pieces, ceramic pieces and hand embroidered paintings are also introduced at the site, where visitors can experience the process with artisans.

Artisan Trieu Dinh Hong from Trieu Khuc Village, Tan Trieu Commune, Thanh Tri District could not hide his excitement before the event. He will perform his village’s folk dance called Bong or Con Di Danh Bong dance, in which men dress up as women and dance.

"Bong or Con Di Danh Bong dance is an ancient dance,” he said. “We have faced various challenges in preserving it. Thanks to efforts by local authorities, we are still practicing it. We will prove its beauty at this event.”

Vun Art, an enterprise at the event will bring its folk paintings made from cloth pieces, which are discarded by Van Phuc silk weaving village.

Le Viet Cuong, director of Vun Art, said he set up the enterprises to help disabled people.

“Our enterprise has gradually become a creative space for domestic and foreign tourists," he said.

The city now hosts nearly 6,000 historic relic sites, over 1,700 intangible cultural heritages and folk arts.

Ngo Manh Chien, a resident from Trung Hoa Ward, Cau Giay District, said he would not miss the event as it was a chance to learn to preserve cultural values of communities.

Ngo Thuy Dung, a student from Hanoi Foreign Trade University said she liked handicraft products and folk performing arts.

“I hope the festival will offer meaningful experiences so that people of all ages, especially the youth, understand more clearly and love traditional values,” she said.

To Van Dong, Director of the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports, said the event aims to praise and advertise historical values and profound knowledge of holy land Thang Long - Hanoi.

“From this event, culture workers like me hope Hanoians will show off their responsibilities in preserving and developing heritage,” he said.

“Then each of them can be an ambassador to advertise Hanoi’s culture and personality based on their profound understanding on the city’s history and culture,” he said./.