An art performance recreates the worshipping ritual of the Moon at the Ok Om Bok Festival of the Khmer ethnic minority group in Cần Thơ City. — VNA/VNS Photo Hồng Thái

CẦN THƠ — The Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta city of Cần Thơ has issued a cultural programme for the second half of this year to promote tourism and attract tourists.

Cần Thơ will host special cultural, artistic and sports activities to celebrate national holidays, including the 81st anniversary of the August Revolution (August 19) and National Day (September 2), and Việt Nam Culture Day (November 24).

The city will host the Ok Om Bok Festival, one of the major festivals of the Khmer people in the South, in November.

The festival, also called the Festival of Worshipping the Moon, takes place 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 not only an occasion to honour, preserve and promote the distinctive cultural values of the Khmer ethnic community in the city, but also an opportunity to promote the potential and tourism strengths of Cần Thơ to domestic and international visitors.

The event will feature the worshipping ritual of the Moon, the Khmer musical performances, and a Lôi Protip, a performance of floating water lanterns to express gratitude and respect to the gods of earth and water on the Maspero River in Sóc Trăng and Phú Lợi wards.

The Ngo (long boat) race, one of the most anticipated activities of the Ok Om Bok Festival, is expected to attract dozens of men's and women's teams from the city and other Mekong Delta provinces. The race will take place on the Maspero River.

The Cần Thơ City River Culture Festival is annually held in December to honour river culture in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta and attract tourists. — VNA/VNS Photo Thúy Hằng

Cần Thơ will host the River Culture Festival by the end of December to introduce the unique traits of the river culture of the Mekong Delta and Cần Thơ to domestic and international visitors.

It also contributes to improving the cultural life of local people and raising their awareness of sustainable tourism and environmental protection, particularly river ecosystems.

The festival will focus on activities on the Hậu River, including boats carrying fruits and vegetables, and performances of tài tử music, a traditional music genre from the south.

The event will include a fireworks display, a trade fair highlighting tourism and OCOP (one commune one product) products from the Mekong Delta provinces.

In addition, Cần Thơ will cooperate with the Việt Nam Theatre Artists’ Association to host the Southern Dù Kê Theatre Festival in November.

The festival aims to preserve and promote dù kê, a unique style of musical theatre created by the Khmer people in the South in the early 20th century. It originated from local farmers.

In the art, artists in traditional Khmer costumes sing, dance and stage plays based on the Khmer religions, traditional customs and culture, as well as Indian epics such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, and even today's social issues.

The city also plans to collaborate with private art troupes to hold monthly performing arts activities at the city’s Culture and Arts Centre from August to December. — VNS