Ok Om Bok Festival is a traditional festival of the Khmer people. — VNA/ VNS Photo

SÓC TRĂNG — Sóc Trăng Province’s Ok Om Bok Festival, an important traditional event for the Khmer people, featured numerous activities to celebrate Khmer culture, as well as setting the record for Việt Nam's largest painting made with ST25 rice.

The province-wide event, which opened last weekend, was highlighted by Khmer musical performances, an exhibition for Sóc Trăng’s OCOP products and regional specialties, and a conference to discuss trade facilitation for the province’s goods.

A Lôi Protip, a performance of floating water lanterns to express gratitude and respect to the gods of earth and water, was held on the night of November 25 on Sóc Trang City’s Maspero River. Crowds of visitors and tourists gathered alongside the river to have a look at colourful, intricately designed lanterns, some of which were modelled after pagodas.

Trần Minh Lý, director of the province’s Department of Culture, Sport and Tourism, said that the performance aimed to preserve and promote the rich cultural beauty of the Khmer people, as well as being an attractive tourism product.

A floating water lantern performance was held on November 25 night, impressing a great number of visitors and tourists. — VNA/VNS Photo

Another of the festival’s noteworthy activities is the Ngo (Khmer long boat) race held in Sóc Trăng City on November 26 and 27, where 46 teams from Sóc Trăng and other nearby provinces compete on the Maspero River, with a total of over 4,000 participants.

Ngo racing is a traditional sport of Khmer people in southern Việt Nam, having been elevated into a festival by many provinces. The sport this year garnered tens of thousands of spectators within the province and other regions, and according to the province, it is one of the most anticipated activities of the Ok Om Bok Festival.

Ngo race is a highly anticipated sporting event at the festival. — VNA/VNS Photo

Huỳnh Thị Diễm Ngọc, deputy chairman of the Sóc Trăng People’s Committee, said that the 2023 Ok Om Bok Festival and Ngo race aim to continue the preservation and promotion of the Khmer people’s traditional cultural values, and strengthen the unity between ethnicities so all can develop together.

A photo exhibition has also been held since November 21 on the province’s economic, social, cultural and national defense accomplishments in recent years.

The Ok Om Bok Festival, or Festival of Worshipping the Moon, is recognised as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage, and is held under the full moon in the 10th lunar month annually when the season changes from rainy to dry, and from the growing season to the harvest season.

The festival is held until November 27.

Việt Nam’s largest painting made with rice. — Photo danviet.vn

Việt Nam’s largest rice painting

As part of the festival, the Việt Nam Records Organisation officially awarded the province a record for Việt Nam’s Largest Painting made from ST25 rice.

The painting is 4m tall and 7m wide, made from 14 smaller paintings put together, and is named “Sóc Trăng rice then and now.”

It reflects the development of Sóc Trăng’s rice farming, with one half detailing a countryside landscape and farmers harvesting rice through traditional methods, while the other half conveys a modern scenery with buildings and a harvesting machine.

Rice grains of various sizes were used to make the painting, with all carefully roasted to reach the right shades of brown, yellow and white.

According to the province, Sóc Trăng has several advantages in agricultural development, and rice is the province’s key crop.

Its ST rice strains are especially renowned for their quality, bringing the province’s rice to the world, with ST25 rice winning the World's Best Rice award in 2019. — VNS