The Nghinh Ông (Whale Worshipping) Thắng Tam Festival 2025 from October 7 to 12 in HCM City’s Vũng Tàu Ward features a wide range of cultural and artistic activities. — VNA/VNS Photo Huỳnh Sơn

HCM CITY — The Nghinh Ông (Whale Worshipping) Thắng Tam Festival 2025 officially opened on Tuesday (October 7) in HCM City’s Vũng Tàu Ward, featuring a wide range of cultural and artistic activities.

The festival is a major cultural and tourism event of Vũng Tàu, celebrating the national intangible cultural heritage associated with the whale-worshipping tradition of coastal fishermen.

It offers the local community a chance to honour Nam Hải Ngọc Lân Tôn Thần (Nam Hải Whale God) and pray for peace, good weather, prosperity, and a bountiful fishing season.

It also serves as a key tourism promotion event under the theme “Vũng Tàu – a green, civilised, friendly, and world-class seaside city.”

Nguyễn Tấn Bản, secretary of the ward Party Committee, said this year’s festival is taking place as the ward has been designated a key marine tourism area with great potential to become a premier destination for cultural and festive tourism.

“The festival not only preserves traditional values but is also organised with innovation, creativity, and professionalism, aiming to grow into a regional-scale annual event,” he said.

The main ritual segment, held at Thắng Tam Temple, features sacred ceremonies such as the sea procession to welcome the Whale God, the Nghinh Ông parade, the offerings and invocation rites, and the Xây chầu Đại bội ceremony.

The festival embodies the unique folk culture of the fishing community, helping residents and visitors connect with their roots while creating a distinctive local tourism product, Lê Quang Dương, deputy head of the management board of the Thắng Tam Temple historical site, said.

The highlight of the celebration is the sea procession and street parade along Quang Trung, Trương Công Định, and Hoàng Hoa Thám streets, drawing large crowds of residents and tourists.

Participants dressed as sea creatures such as fish, shrimp, and squid joined the parade alongside symbolic whale floats and giant kites, accompanied by traditional percussion, ngũ âm (five-tone) musical ensemble, and lion-dragon dances, creating a festive atmosphere stretching for kilometres.

Alongside the spiritual rituals, the festival also features a wide array of cultural, sports, and community activities, including art performances, traditional games, and a “Marine Culture Week.”

The Nghinh Ông Thắng Tam Festival is not only a long-standing folk tradition that reflects fishermen’s gratitude and hopes for peace and prosperity but also a distinctive tourism product that helps preserve and promote cultural heritage while showcasing the dynamic and culturally rich image of Vũng Tàu.

The festival will run until October 12. — VNS