Vietnam-Switzerland traditional cultural festival has opened in the Obwalden state of Switzerland recently.

A photo of Miss Vietnam 2010 Dang Thi Ngoc Han wearing a traditional long dress (ao dai) and a palm-leaf conical hat whilst standing beside the Pyramids has appeared on TV in Egypt.

The International Children’s Painting Competition 2011 will be held in Ho Chi Minh City from July 15 to November 26, announced the Global Art and Creative Centre.

A festival showcasing delicious and special dishes of all three regions of the country opened in Tuy Hoa city, the south-central coastal province of Phu Yen, on July 6.

Lang Co Festival 2011 – the World Beautiful Bay will be held in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue on July 9-10 to promote tourism and encourage investment in the Lang Co-Chan May economic zone.

The Vietnam Records Book Centre (Vietkings) on July 5 announced the second publication in its S100 Records series – “100 Vietnamese natural and food specialities”.

A new television programme called “Impressive Vietnam” will be launched on VTV3 on every Sunday with an aim of introducing the country’s landscapes and the unique socio-cultural features of each region.

The first BeyBlade Cup is being held in Vietnam from July 3-24 by Takara Tomy Company.

The central province of Quang Ngai has discovered ten ancient graves, dating back over 3,000 years.  

The first ever course of traditional Vietnamese music has concluded in Paris recently.

Vietnamese-French artist Nguyen Le will bring his world music and jazz to the “Music on the Roof” show at the Rooftop Bar in Hanoi on July 12-13.

The MTV Vietnam channel has made its debut broadcasting shows specifically with a Vietnamese audience in mind.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has decided to organise the Song and Dance Festival of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia in Quang Tri province in July.

A programme of Vietnamese poetry and a painting exhibition opened in the Vietnamese Culture Centre in France on July 2.

The Binh Thuan museum has unearthed a 2,500 year-old earring, the first of its kind ever to be found in the province. 

Jiangcheng district in China’s Yunnan province will host a traditional ‘con’ throwing festival on November 10-12 for participants from Vietnam, China and Laos.

The Vietnam Craft Village Association organised a ceremony to honour outstanding craft villages in Hanoi on July 2.

The Centre for Environment and Community Research (CECR) made debut a website on Hanoi lakes at www.cecr.vn on June 30.

More than 700 artists and athletes from 12 provinces and cities attended the Ethnic Minority Cultural Festival for central and central highland regions on July 1.

A collection of more than 70 Polish porcelain artworks will be on display in Hanoi.

Vietnamese designer Vo Viet Chung will represent Vietnam at the Asian Fashion Week in Thailand from July 5-11.

The Vietnam Sea Village Festival will take place in the central coastal province of Ninh Thuan from August 1-4.

Viet Van, a reporter of Lao Dong (Labour) Newspaper, has won two awards at this year’s PX3 competition.

As many as 18 programmes will take place during the Da Lat Flower Festival to be held in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong from December 30, 2011 to January 3, 2012.

The Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra (VNSO), under the baton of Japanese maestro Tetsuji Honna, is set to tour four major Vietnamese cities from July 7-16.

About 80 paintings by Vietnamese and Thai painters are on display at the Silom Galleria in Bangkok, Thailand, to mark the 35th anniversary of the establishment of the two countries’ diplomatic ties (August 6).

UNESCO recognised the Ho Dynasty in the central province of Thanh Hoa as World Cultural Heritage site on June 27.

Vietnam, especially the interesting life in Hanoi, is vividly featured in the first edition of ASIES, a new French magazine spotlighting Asia, which hit newspaper shelves in France early June, this year.

The event marks the 35th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam-Thailand diplomatic ties (August 6).

The 3D movie ‘Transformers: Dark of the Moon’ will be screened in Vietnam from June 29, one day before the North American market.