Music, dances and attires specific to 12 Mekong Delta provinces that attest to the region's ethnic and cultural diversity will be presented at a three-day festival in Hau Giang province this weekend.

The festival, hosted by the province's Vi Thanh Town, is called Singing Rendezvous of Nine Rivers. Held every two years in different provinces, the festival, now in its 13th edition, gives an opportunity for performing troupes in region to showcase their talent and highlight the unique cultural traits of their localities.

The troupes are encouraged to create new shows that reflect the cultural identities of different ethnic groups living in the region, including the Kinh, the Khmer, the Cham as well as the Chinese.

The festival competition will have two separate sections: artistic shows and pageants, said Duong Thanh Tung, deputy director of the Hau Giang Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and deputy head of the festival's organising board.

Each province will perform three items of any genre they choose, one each day, for the artistic shows, he said.

For the pageant, called Charm of Nine Rivers, beautiful women representing the provinces will present traditional outfits like ao dai (traditional long robes) and ao ba ba (loose-fitting blouses), and answer questions on the history, culture and geography of the Mekong Delta region. /.