The Vietnamese puppet art program "Trẩy Hội Mùa Xuân" (Spring Celebration) will be held in Sunset Town, Phú Quốc, aiming to showcase Việt Nam's intangible cultural heritage to both domestic and foreign tourists.

"Trẩy Hội Mùa Xuân" is a free 30-minute show to be performed daily from 7:30 p.m. at Sunset Town Beach from 15th February 2024.

After each show, visitors can experience puppetry, chat with elite artists, and learn more about this type of stage performance art.

The program is invested in by Sun Group, directly produced by People's Artist Nguyễn Tiến Dũng, Director of Vietnam Puppet Theatre, and performed by Vietnam Puppet Theatre, one of the largest and leading puppetry art centres in Việt Nam.

Việt Nam dragon puppet with the Kiss Bridge - a new icon of Phú Quốc Island

The eight-part performance tells the story of the productive working life and beliefs of Vietnamese people, bringing viewers into the flow of Vietnamese culture, discovering the beauty of the spring festival, the working life of rice farming, as well as spiritual practice and Vietnamese beliefs.

There is also the appearance of a quai thao hat metaphorically resembling moonlight or a boat on water.

The puppet show in Phú Quốc is an intersection between tradition and contemporary art, creating a new but still close and familiar experience for the audience.

Nguyễn Tiến Dũng said the festival combines many different types of art and performance, such as traditional puppetry, water puppetry and dance art.

As for the music, the audience will also listen to “chèo” singing and “chầu văn” singing.

A special highlight lies in the final performance, "Hello Vietnam," with new harmonies using the flute, and gourd and drums. These traditional musical instruments will be combined with the áo dài dance and conical hats.

"Trẩy Hội Mùa Xuân" will be performed for the first time at a water pavilion on the beach in Việt Nam. Photo courtesy of Vietnam Puppet Theatre

One of the things that makes " Trẩy Hội Mùa Xuân" unique is the water pavilion that simulates Thầy Pagoda. This is the most ancient pagoda in Hanoi and the founding stage of Vietnamese water puppetry.

The architectural and artistic relics of the Lý Dynasty will be a highlight in the poetic picture Hoang Hôn Town.

Before Phú Quốc, artists at the Vietnam Water Puppet Theatre brought this Vietnamese intangible cultural heritage to 70 countries and territories around the world.

The Vietnamese puppet art program "Trẩy Hội Mùa Xuân" (Spring Celebration) will be held in Sunset Town, Phú Quốc from February 15th

People’s Artist Dũng said that from the first conversations, they felt in harmony with Sun Group. Both sides desired to bring traditional culture into tourism.

He and the artists at the theatre were happy to perform in Sunset Town, which gathers many other art forms with many international tourists.

"We can introduce the age-old theatre art to tourists so that all nationalities and ages can learn more about the country and people of Vietnam. In particular, we Vietnamese people also understand more about the value of traditional cultural arts and are proud of our international friends," Dũng said.

Sunset Town brings together high-class art shows such as "Kiss of the Sea" combined with nightly artistic fireworks performances

The puppet performances, along with other unique art shows at the multi-million-dollar entertainment complex in Sunset Town, help visitors increase their experience, contributing to honouring and bringing back traditional values and bringing Vietnamese culture closer to the world.