Ho Chi Minh City will hold a fireworks display at 9pm on April 30 to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Liberation of South Vietnam and National Unification Day.

The Association for Asian Studies (AAS), which is an academic, professional organization open to people interested in studying Asia, held an international conference in the US city of Philadelphia on March 28 to feature Hanoi’s first millennium.

The Jacques Couturier Organisation from France won first prize at the second Da Nang international fireworks contest on March 28.

The Vietnam Museum of Ethnology is showcasing the works of Australian artist Clare Martin in a new exhibition entitled Notes on an Imaginary Culture, which includes sculptures, photographs and writings.

The 5th Federation International Cinema Television Sports (FICTS)-Vietnam Festival will be held in Da Nang City from March 27 to May 30.

Lao Prime Minister Bouasone Bouphavanh on March 25 received a delegation of writers who are in Vientiane to attend the third conference of writers from Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

The Vietnam Guinness Book of Records (Vietbooks) and An Hao Design and Printing Company will unveil Vietnam’s largest block calendar in HCM City on March 27.

This year’s Ha Long Tourism Festival at the World Heritage site of Ha Long Bay will take Hanoi as its theme to celebrate the 1,000 birthday of the capital city.

The dossier for Hat Xoan should be completed and submiited to UNESCO for recognition as an intangible World Cultural Heritage in need of urgent protection, says Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan.

The second international kite festival 2010 opened in Vung Tau City on March 26.

The “Vietnam-our homeland” festival will take place at the Taiwan National University (NTU) on April 3.

The Windsor Plaza Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City will hold its annual Beerfest Sai Gon from May 6 - 9.

The German Embassy in Vietnam held a press conference in Ho Chi Minh City on March 25 to announce the start of “ Germany Year in Vietnam.”

The Hanoi Municipal People’s Committee opened its old quarter information centre at Quan De Temple in Hang Buom Street on March 25.

A painting exhibition opened at a showroom of the Judith Hughes Day Contemporary Vietnamese Fine Art in New York on March 24.

Top local and foreign singers will share the stage during a series of concerts to raise awareness of human trafficking which will kick off on March 27 in Hanoi.

A Vietnamese team has won the first prize at the 13th Large Scale Integrated (LSI) Design Contest in Okinawa, Japan.

The ambassadors of Italy, Germany, Brazil, Sweden and Belgium will join a cooking contest at Mediterraneo restaurant in Hanoi on April 3.

Michelle Phan, a Vietnamese-American student from Florida has been contracted by make-up brand Lancome to serve as its first make up instructor via video clips.

The 2010 Ha Long Tourism Festival will take place in the northern border province of Quang Ninh from April 29 to May 2.

Vietnamese people and international friends will gain a better understanding of late President Ho Chi Minh’s life through a film titled “Look to the sea” made by the Vietnam Cinematography Association.

Da Nang will host its second international firework contest on March 27-28 under the theme of “Huyen thoai song Han” (the Legendary Han River), attracting five teams from the US, Japan, France, Portugal and the host Vietnam.

A nine-day artistic photo exhibition, entitled Nhip Thoi Gian (Rhythm of Time), will open at Da Nang’s general science library on March 25, said artist Phan Ngoc Hoi.

The second Cracking Bamboo music festival is being held at Hanoi’s Goethe Institute drawing about 60 musicians from around the world from March 22 to April 3.

The French composer, singer Eric Vincent, who has won many prizes from various radio broadcasters and made tours of more than 140 countries, will arrive in Vietnam to perform this week.

The 22nd Duyen Dang Vietnam (Charming Vietnam) music gala called “the breath of the sea” was held in Tuy Hoa city, Phu Yen province for a live TV broadcast on March 21.

A 19-member Vietnamese circus troupe joined their Lao counterparts to entertain local audiences in the Lao capital city of Vientiane on March 20.

An exhibition featuring Vietnamese women’s daily lives kicked off in Paris, France, on March 20.

Tens of thousands of music fans flocked to April 2 Square to experience the excitement of rock music performed at the “Rockstorm 2010” festival held in Nha Trang city, Khanh Hoa province.

Thua Thien-Hue’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism on March 20 organised a ceremony to announce the city’s 2010 tourism year and presented to the public the country’s biggest plain rice cake.