Month-long festival to bring giant Teddy Bear to HCM City
Teddy Bear lovers in Ho Chi Minh City will have the chance to meet their favorite toy in enormous sizes at a month-long festival slated for the middle of this month.
Thirty-five giant Teddy Bears, standing between 1.68 meters and 1.73 meters tall, will be on display at the 2015 Teddy Bear Festival at the Crescent Lake and Crescent Mall area in Ho Chi Minh City for a month from November 15.
The event, jointly organized by the Phu My Hung Corporation and the Crescent Mall Commercial Center, allows visitors to see and take pictures with the world’s most famous bear.
It also aims to offer an opportunity for people to express their love to their beloved ones and friends, the organizers said.
Spectators can take photos with the giant bears to join a contest name “Teddy I Love You” or sign up to show off their dance performances at another contest, “Dancing with Teddy.”
The organizers also promise to donate VND500 (US$.02) for each “like” it received on the Teddy Bear Festival 2015 Facebook page to the “Uoc mo cua Thuy” (Thuy's dream), a Tuoi Tre (Youth) Newspaper-backed charity program for cancer children.
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| Poster of teh Teddy Bear 2015 festival to be held from November 15 to December 15, 2015 in Ho Chi Minh City. |
Developed apparently simultaneously by toymakers Morris Michtom in the US and Richard Steiff in Germany in the early years of the 20th century, and named after President Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt, the Teddy Bear has now become an iconic children's toy, celebrated in story, song, and film.
Teddy bears are among the most popular gifts for children and are often given to adults to signify love, congratulations, or sympathy.
On November 15, a series of activities, including street music performances by bands from the UK, the Philippines, and Vietnam; outdoor film screenings; picnics; and a Teddy fair with 50 booths selling books and souvenirs will also take place at the venue.
The Teddy Bear festival is a sequel of a 2014 event, which featured the giant Rubber Duck, the work of internationally-acclaimed Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman.
The iconic duck, which was the stylized, huge version of kids’ yellow toy duck, was also showcased at the area in April for one month.
Activities at the Rubber Duck fest included taking fun, creative photos with the duck, dance and rock shows, acoustic concerts, performances of Vietnam’s water puppetry, book fairs and souvenir booths.