HÀ NỘI — Traditional festivals, cuisine and the arts of ethnic groups living in the central region will be reflected during a festival held August 24-26 in the central province of Quảng Nam. 

Thirteen provinces in the region will participate in the third Central Ethnic Culture Festival including Thanh Hóa, Nghệ An, Hà Tĩnh, Quảng Bình, Quảng Trị, Thừa Thiên Huế, Quảng Nam, Quảng Ngãi, Bình Định and Phú Yên and the three south central provinces of Khánh Hòa, Ninh Thuận and Bình Thuận. 

Themed Central Ethnic Culture Identity Preservation and Development in the Integration Period, the festival will present a wide range of activities, such as an amateur music festival, ethnic costume show, exhibition, sports and tourism promotion. The festival will also offer visitors varieties of cuisine. Each province will set up a booth introducing its tourism potential and destinations.

The highlight will be the performance of traditional rituals such as the Chăm festival praying for peace, the Ê Đê prayers for rain, the Thái celebration of a new crop and the Cơ Tu for establishing a new village.

The opening ceremony of the festival will be held at 8pm at 24-3 Square in Tam Kỳ City and will be aired live on Việt Nam National Television and local television stations of the participating provinces. 

Other activities will be organised at the Quảng Nam Provincial Museum and the Provincial Cultural Centre.

The festival aims to honour the cultural values and diversity of 54 ethnic groups in Việt Nam.

It will provide an opportunity for artisans, traditional art performers and athletes to meet and exchange their experiences to preserve the traditional cultural values of ethnic groups in the central region, according to Trần Văn Tân, vice chairman of the Quảng Nam People’s Committee.

“We aim to promote the rich, diversified culture of the local ethnic groups,” he said.

“Through the festival, we expect to lure more tourists to come to discover the tourism potential and unique culture of the destinations in the central region.” — VNS