Thirty-eight leading Vietnamese and Russian films will be screened at the National Cinema Centre in Hanoi free of charge from Friday to next Tuesday.

A Xa Tac altar ritual held during the early Le dynasty (908-1009) to the Earth and Rice Gods is to be fully re-enacted in the former imperial city of Hue on March 24.     

Eran Katz, an Israel man who has set a Guinness record with his excellent memory, will arrive in Hanoi on March 9 to talk about techniques to boost memory power.

The photo Khô Cằn (Waterless) by photographer Vu Duc Huy from Hanoi has won first prize in a photo contest held by the delegation of the European Commission to Vietnam and the Vietnam Artistic Photographers Association (VAPA).

French and Vietnamese artists will form a quintet of chords and keys in a concert performing popular pieces written for the five chord musical instruments by Mozart, Antonin Dvorak and Weber on March 6 at the HCM City Conservatoire.

The Vietnam Cinematography Department (VCD) has announced plans to organize a series of cultural activities to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Russian State University of Cinematography (VGIK).

Twenty-four famous dishes from northern, central and southern Vietnam, including pho (noodles) and nem cuon (spring rolls), are being offered during the month of Vietnamese Cuisine at the Westin Hotel in Beijing.

The 400-page book “Hanoi, Van hoa and Phong Tuc” (Hanoi, Culture and Customs) has collected the articles by researcher Ly Khac Cung, who has meticulously recorded the beautiful cultural traits that create the “essence” of the 1,000 year-old capital.

A group of famous Japanese artists are performing their unique blend of traditional music and dance in Hanoi on March 2-3, as part of a range of activities marking the 2009 Japan-Mekong Exchange Year.

The 2008 Golden Kite awards ceremony was held at the Hanoi Cultural Friendship Palace on March 1 by the Vietnam Cinematography Association.

The Hue Relics Preservation Centre has developed 15 projects to help preserve and restore the ancient imperial city of Hue with a total investment commitment of around US$24 million over the 2009-2010 period.

A concert of chamber music will be performed by Vietnamese and French artists at the Ho Chi Minh City Conservatoire at 8pm on March 6.

Synthesis, an eight-member Macedonian group, performed along with Vietnamese artists at a concert in HCM City on February 28.

A high school based in Moscow, Russia, sought support for launching Vietnamese-language courses for Russians during a meeting between its delegation and Vietnamese diplomats in Hanoi on February 27.

The US Embassy in Hanoi has announced that a US jazz band called “The Student Loan” will be in Vietnam from February 27 to March 1.

Four Vietnamese writers and poets have received the Mekong River Literature Prize, together with other 8 Lao and Cambodian authors.

A competition to find the best fireworks display will take place in the central coastal city of Danang on March 27-28, attracting teams from Spain, Australia, China and the Philippines as well as a large number of tourists.

An international kite festival, entitled “The Dance of the East Sea,” will be held in the southern province of Ba Ria – Vung Tau from March 26-29.

Winners of the national photography competition, Vietnam 24/7, will be awarded at a prize-giving ceremony in Ho Chi Minh City on March 1.

Radio the Voice of Vietnam (VOV) and the Hanoi Municipal People’s Committee have agreed to cooperate closely in promoting the capital city’s image in preparation for its 1,000th anniversary next year.

The Vietnamese Embassy in Japan on February 25 organised a food fair to introduce Vietnamese food to Japanese people and the international community at large to highlight the country’s cuisine.

Two women, a Korean American and a Vietnamese, will share their personal visions of daily life in Vietnam through a photography book Vietnam Moment, to be released on February 28.

Vietnam’s most internationally renowned pianist Dang Thai Son will entertain Hanoi’s classical music lovers in a concert sponsored by Techcombank at the Hanoi Opera House on the night of February 27.

A Cultural Day for ethnic Vietnamese people is scheduled to take place at the culture and tourism village for Vietnamese ethnic minority groups in Son Tay, Hanoi on April 18-19.

The Cham museum of sculpture in the central city of Danang will open two modern exhibition suites on February 27 with funding provided by the Guimet Museum of Asian Art and France’s Nord-Pas-de-Calais.

More than 8,000 photos, taken by disabled residents of Thanh Hoa province and reflecting a personal perspective on their own lives, will be on display at a photo exhibition entitled “Doi Mat” (Facing), in Hanoi on February 25.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Vietnam Television (VTV) have introduced a new TV programme designed to promote Vietnam’s cultural image to the world.

A group of US professors will teach at a number of universities in Vietnam as part of an educational programme supported by the US Government, according to the Vietnam Education Foundation.

The 2009 Sapa Culture and Tourism Week will be held in Sapa district in the northern province of Lao Cai, from April 30 to May 3.

Vietnamese culture was on display at an annual international cultural festival in Ottawa, Canada on February 20.