Otoza Group, a well-known Japanese art troupe, will perform on the wadaiko drum at HCM City’s Opera House on Friday to bring the curtain down on the Japanese Cultural Month in the city and the Mekong-Japan Exchange Year.

Kim Hoa Barutaut, a girl of Vietnamese origin, qualified for the final round of this year’s Miss France beauty pageant.

The seventh congress of the Vietnam Theatrical Artists’ Association (VTAA) will take place at the Opera House in Hanoi from December 7-9 with the participation of 502 association members and many other artists throughout the country.

The first student music festival ended in Hanoi on Dec. 5. It highlighed the best art performances selected by music lovers via SMS message and the website http://www.lienhoanamnhac.com.

Various activities in will be held in Hanoi from Dec. 11-14 to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Ha Long Bay’s recognition as the world natural heritage (Dec. 7).

Professors from Colorado State University (CSU) will have lectures at the Foreign Trade University (FTU) in Hanoi this month under a bilateral cooperation framework.

More than 40 works by Vietnam’s wood carving artist Hoang Minh Phuc, are being displayed at the Vietnam Cultural Centre in France from December 4.  

Anyone in Hanoi who has a dream to travel to the Milky Way can have it partly come true as they can see by their eyes true photos of the galaxy at a scientific exhibition opened in the capital city on December 3. 

Flower arrangements by Eikou Sumara, one of Japan ’s top artisans, will be on display alongside works of 10 local artists at the second Ikebana Festival that will open at Van Mieu Quoc Tu Giam ( Temple of Literature ) in Hanoi on December 5. 

An Austrian duo will make their debut in Hanoi on November 3.

A culinary festival featuring delicious dishes from countries throughout the world opened in Ho Chi Minh City on December 3.

 “Looking for Eric,” a comedy by celebrated director Ken Loach, will open UK Film Week in Hanoi from December 11-17.

The second international sculpture creation camp entitled “Impression of Hung Vuong ancestral land” opened at the Hung Kings’ Temple Complex in the northern midland province of Phu Tho on December 3.

120 works of photographers from 6 countries are being showcased at the Mekong-Japan Culture and Tourism Photographic Exhibition in Ninh Kieu, Can Tho from December 3-5.

A special photo exhibition was held in Hanoi, on Dec. 2 to tell stories of brave people who have overcome adversity to live happy and useful lives.

Various activities were held before the opening ceremony of the Mekong-Japan Culture and Tourism Festival, which officially took place in the evening in Can Tho city on Dec. 2.

The Can Tho City’s People’s Committee held a concert called the “Mekong Dream” on December 1 to raise funds for poor children from the four Mekong sub-region countries, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam.

Work on the largest-ever embroidery painting is scheduled for completing by October next year, in time for the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi. 

A photo exhibition on Vietnam-Laos friendship opened in central highland province of Dak Lak on December 1.

Vietnam officially submitted two new profiles for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisaton (UNESO)’s “World Memory” programme in Asia-Pacific on November 30.

Preparation for the Mekong-Japan Cultural and Tourism Days is completed and Can Tho anticipates the opening day on December 2.

In four months’ time, the dossier for Hat Xoan (Xoan singing) will be submitted to UNESCO for its recognition as an intangible World Cultural Heritage in need of urgent protection. Now that it appears to be falling into oblivion, there is a growing concern among researchers about preserving and developing this special art form.

Vietnam and China signed a document in Hanoi on November 30 on the construction of the Vietnam-China Friendship Palace.

Vietnam’s Thang Long Water Puppetry Theatre participated in the 8th Asian Performing Arts Festival (APAF) in Tokyo from November 26-29.

The Vietnam Buddhist Shangha (VBS) has launched a cultural week to welcome the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi in Nha Trang city in the south-central province of Khanh Hoa on November 29.

The Thai Nguyen “Tea Festival” 2009 was held in La Bang commune, Dai Tu District, in Thai Nguyen province on November 28 sponsored by Vietnam Television  (VTV) and the Thai Nguyen Radio and Television Station.  

Japanese conductor Yoshikaza Fukumura and Thai –Japanese violinist Ana Takeda will mark their return to Vietnam with the Ho Chi Minh City Music Conservatory’s orchestra on November 29.  

The Central Highland province of Dak Lak will hold a riverside ceremony during the Buon Me Thuot-Dak Lak Tourism and Culture Week from December 16-20.

A national seminar on the Party and State’s policy on linguistics during the process of national industrialisation and modernisation was held in Hanoi on November 26 by the Social Science Institute of Vietnam.

Vietnam’s representative, Nguyen Ngoc Lan Huong, was chosen as one of the top five beauties in the 2009 Miss World Model in China on November 26.