On the occasion of the Hung Kings’ Temple Festival this year, the Mai Linh Corporation has made a special sticky rice cake, 1.8 square metres, arranged from 6,000 smaller cakes.

The third National Folk Songs Festival will open in the northern province of Bac Ninh on April 5.

World-renowned Norwegian guitarist Magnus Andersson will perform along with Vietnamese artists at the Ho Chi Minh City Conservatoire on April 3.

400 fresh cherry blossoms will be flown to Hanoi on April 9 to display their charming beauty during the annual Japanese cherry blossom festival in the capital city from April 10-12.

A four-day festival to hail the traditional Khmer New Year, Chol Chnam Thmay, will be hosted by Tri Don district in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang from April 10.

Foundation of an ancient road has been discovered by construction workers in the old street area of Hoi An ancient city in the central province of Quang Nam.

Three students from Hanoi Architecture University have won the first prize for their project “Long Bien Bridge, Day and Night” in an art contest.

The central coastal province of Khanh Hoa is gearing up for the wide-ranging Nha Trang Maritime Festival, entitled Civilization and Friendship, which is scheduled for June 6-12 and features 70 different cultural, sporting, economic and scientific events.

Two Vietnamese films, “Ao lua Ha Dong” (White Silk Dress) and “Nhung cam xuc Hanoi” (Feelings about Hanoi) won the hearts of cinema lovers at the fourth Asian Film Festival held in Tanzania from March 20-27.

Violinist Bui Cong Duy will perform works composed by Tchaikovsky and Bach as part of the Giai Dieu Mua Xuan (Melody of Spring) concert at Hanoi Opera House on April 8.

The Pho Hien cultural festival opened in the Red delta province of Hung Yen on March 31 with the aim of promoting its traditional cultural values and image to domestic and foreign visitors.

An exhibition showcasing Vietnam’s ancient ceramics is taking place at the National Museum of Korea in Seoul, the Republic of Korea (RoK).

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) is considering giving documentary heritage status to 82 doctor laureate steles at Hanoi’s Temple of Literature.

English conductor Collin Metters will lead the National Symphony Orchestra when it performs several classical works by the Czech composer  Atonin Leopold Dvorak in Hanoi on March 30 and 31 at 8pm.

A Korean professor’s desire for a closer relationship between Vietnam and the Republic of Korea fuelled his interest in translating Vietnamese literature, including the famous Truyen Kieu (The Tale of Kieu) by 18th century writer Nguyen Du.

This year pilgrims to the northern province of Phu Tho can pay their respects to the country’s legendary ancestor Lac Long Quan, at a newly-built temple which was opened to the public on March 29.

More than 600 artists, artisans and athletes gave a special performance at the opening ceremony of a cultural, sports and tourism festival of the north-western region in Lai Chau province on March 28.

The Vietnamese tourism industry will be promoted on the global BBC TV channel and on public transport in the UK as from late April 2009, an official of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said on March 26.

The second international fireworks contest took place in the central city of Da Nang on March 27-28.

The 2009 Do Son tourist festival will run from April 30 to May 3 at the Do Son tourist site, Hai Phong City.

The potential for Vietnam’s maritime tourism sector will be highlighted at a festival in Paris from April 28-29.

The Iranian Embassy in Vietnam will organise a Persian carpet exhibition in Hanoi from April 3-5, according to a press briefing held in Hanoi on March 26.

Vietnamese film “Moon at the Bottom of the Well” is being screened at universities throughout the United State, including the University of New York, the University of Washington, the University of California-Berkeley and the University of Pennsylvania, from Mar. 25 to Apr. 20.

An exhibition themed “From the Loire River to the Mekong River” has opened in Tours, France to promote the beauty of Vietnam’s landscapes with local citizens.

The runner-up of the 2008 Miss Universe Vietnam contest, Vo Hoang Yen and the winner of Miss Tourism 2008 Phan Thi Ngoc Diem have been nominated for the 2009 Miss Universe contest, which will take place in the Bahamas in August.  

Pavlos Samios, a famous artist who paints in a style akin to contemporay Greek painting, opened an exhibition in Hanoi on March 25 as part of a number of activities celebrating Greek National Day as well as in reponse to Vietnam’s Year of Cultural Diplomacy.

On March 24, tens of thousands of domestic and foreign tourists attended a special royal ceremony named Xa Tac, which was traditionally dedicated to the Earth (Xa) and Cereal (Tac) Gods and has been revived in the former imperial capital of Hue.

More than 300 kites from 17 international kite art organizations will perform at an international kite festival in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau from March 25-29.

The Thang Long Ca Tru Cultural Centre will officially open on March 31 at 25 Tong Dan in Hanoi to conserve and develop the art.

The event, co-organised by the Vietnamese association in Lyon, the Rhone-Mekong club and the Association Connaissance des Arts, is part of the ongoing Francophone festival.