Visit Vietnam Year 2023: Binh Thuan ready to hold big “Cau Ngu” festival

Boat racing - part of "Cau Ngu" festival in the south central coastal province of Binh Thuan. (Photo: Binh Thuan Museum)

Binh Thuan (VNA) – As a host of Visit Vietnam Year 2023, the south-central coastal province of Binh Thuan will organise a big “Cau Ngu” (Whale worshipping) festival, making it a prominent event to attract visitors to Phan Thiet city in particular and the province in general.

According to the local authority, the festival has been held at a city scale for almost 15 years, but the province will upgrade the event this year with more special activities .

Worshipping rituals will take place from August 6 to 8 with a procession of Ong Sanh Order from Hon Lao to Con Cha and then to Duc Thanh bridge and along Ca Ty river, and a lantern floating ceremony at Ca Ty river.

Festive activities will take place on Trung Trac street from August 1-8 including fairs, exhibitions, food stalls; contests of rowing and shaking baskets for men and women, and musical performances.

Nguyen The Dung, deputy head of the Cau Ngu Festival Organising Committee, said that the conservation and sustainable promotion of the unique folklore values of the Cau Ngu festival not only meet the religious and spiritual needs of local people but also help make the festival a tourist product that attracts domestic and foreign tourists, especially this year when Binh Thuan hosts the Visit Vietnam Year 2023.

He said preparation for the festival have completed with priority given to ensuring safety for people and visitors together with social order, security, road safety, and environmental hygiene.

The Cau Ngu festival is observed under the belief that whales rescue people in danger at sea, whilst they also represent a symbol of good fortune that can bring local people a bumper fishing season.

During the festival, locals hold solemn rituals, sing folk songs, and play folk games, including holding a sailing competition.

With its typical values, the “Cau Ngu” festival at Van Thuy Tu temple was recognised as a national intangible cultural heritage by the Ministry of Culture and Sports and Tourism in 2019./.