Festivals provide an opportunity for togetherness and merriment - Photo courtesy of Hanoi Events

By AF Reeves - @afreeves23

’Tis the season to expect the same five Christmas songs, plus one confusingly irrelevant playlist addition, to start blasting in your local Circle K any day now if they have not already. If you are lucky, it may change before Tết; if not, they could still be playing at Easter. Nobody really knows. One thing you can be sure of, though: festivals, lots of them. So save your pennies for the weekends and get amongst it.

Seriously, festivals. To its credit, Hà Nội already has a pretty steady run of events throughout the year, thanks in no small part to Hanoi Events at 100 Garden, embassies, local businesses and the various cultural initiatives for which the government deserves genuine credit. Earlier this month, I had four separate events earmarked for a single weekend. I travel, and I have lived in a few cities, but not recently enough to know if that is normal?

First up was Habeco’s annual Bia Hơi festival, which, to my surprise and slight preference, remains off many expats’ radar. A two-night event celebrating Hà Nội’s legendary beer for the people, the scale of the event never ceases to surprise. Add that to two world food festivals on the same weekend and a wine fair from the Italian Chamber of Commerce, and it was hard enough not to be drunk on options, never mind the actual libations. All in the name of journalism, obviously.

In my former life, I was somewhat involved in the organisation of such festivals in the UK. Working for my local government events team gave me an insight into the amount of time, effort and organisation that goes into making these occasions happen. Between marketing, finding vendors, keeping vendors happy, attracting punters and keeping punters both safe and happy (good luck with that), it really is quite the job. That’s without even getting into picking venues, obtaining permissions and physically rigging the space.

What I guess I’m trying to say is, thank you to those who make it all happen. Not only the hard-working organisers but also the hosts, volunteers, the vendors and even the punters. Festivals and other events of such ilk carry an atmosphere and provide the ‘third space’ that not all of us manage to find in our busy lives. They provide opportunities to enrich ourselves culturally and act as the magnet which draws scattered friend groups together. Without them, the city would be a far duller place and the calendar considerably bleaker.

So, as the most festive of seasons is upon us, open the group chat and get something organised. In calendar order, here’s a handful of this month’s opportunities to revel:

* Tây Hồ Holiday Festive Market at Turtle Lake Brewery (6, 7)

* Christmas Charity Flea Market at Diamond Westlake Suites (7)

* Christmas Market at Intercontinental Hanoi, Westlake (7)

* Santa Village 2025 at AEON Mall, Long Biên (12-14)

* Christmas Quiz at The Loosehead (12)

* Hanoi Christmas Market at 100 Garden (20, 21)

Catch you there? VNS