Vietnamese cuisine lovers and French-speaking chefs from around the globe gathered in Paris on March 31 for a four-day food festival dubbed “Cooks’ village in Paris”.

Hanoi will not implement the project of a time capsule for future, said Pham Quang Nghi Secretary of the Hanoi City Party Committee.

The 2010 Ha Long Tourism Festival called “Ha Long-Thang Long” will be held at the Bai Chay Tourism Site and in surrounding areas from April 29 to May 2.

Fifty foreign art troupes from 25 countries registered to take part in Festival Hue 2010 as announced by the Hue Festival Centre on March 30.

The Gie Trieng ethnic minority group- a highly traditional hill tribe can be seen living scattered across Vietnam’s mountainous Central Highland region, mostly in Kon Tum, Quang Nam and Lam Dong provinces.

The annual Tay Thien Festival opened on March 30, the 15th of the second lunar month, at the Truc Lam (Bamboo Forest) Tay Thien Zen Monastery in the northern province of Vinh Phuc.

The Italian contemporary dance Touch by the Oplas Danza troupe will be staged at the Tuoi Tre (Youth) Theatre on March 31.

Nine stories of people’s lives, dreams and struggles in the three Mekong River countries ò Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia are featured at an exhibition in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang.

Thousands of Buddhist dignitaries and followers gathered for a ceremony at the Hoi Khanh Pagoda in Binh Duong province on March 30 to inaugurate a Buddhism cultural centre.

Nicolas Stavy, the famous French pianist, will feature in a special concert at the French Cultural Centre, L’Espace at 24 Trang Tien Str., Hanoi on April 12.

Ngoc Tu, Pham Quang Dau and Nguyen Chien Thang received the Mekong Literary Awards at a ceremony in Vientiane on March 29.

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.