Art & Entertainment News 24/12 Downtown flower street to feature rural beauty This year’s flower street in celebration of the New Year will be organized on Ham Nghi Boulevard in HCMC’s District 1, featuring Vietnam’s rural beauty and its modernization seen through the development of a metro system, which is now under construction in the city. Ham Nghi Flower Boulevard measuring 510 meters in length will be divided into three sections, namely Hao khi Viet Nam (Vietnam’s spirit), Ban sac Viet Nam (Vietnam’s identity) and Vinh quang Viet Nam (Vietnam’s glory). The first section will be highlighted by the image of three goats in the Year of the Goat, decorated with greenery and huge rocks. The next one will manifest the beauty of tranquil Vietnamese villages with cottages and paddy fields and the final part will show the country’s modernization highlighted by the metro system. This year, the flower street is moved to Ham Nghi Boulevard due to the ongoing construction of Metro Line No. 1 on Nguyen Hue Boulevard. The flower boulevard will be opened to public viewing on February 16 until 22, next year. For further information, visit www.duonghoanguyenhue.com. Models ignore state rules to compete in international beauty pageants Young women are continuing to enter beauty contests overseas despite moves by Vietnam authorities to limit their participation by imposing fines. Model Dieu Linh attracted the ire of authorities and the local media after she flew to Malaysia on December 11 to participate in the Miss International Tourism contest, even though she had not applied for permission from the Department of Performing Arts. Whether she wins or not, photographs of her participation have been plastered across the pages of newspapers and posted on the Internet. Other models, such as Hong Que and Bui Thi Ha Anh, took part in the Miss ASEAN 2014 beauty pageant, without permission. Their participation aroused controversy. This year, model Cao Thuy Linh went to Thailand to compete in the Miss Grand International contest and model Huynh Thuy Anh competed at a beauty contest of overseas Vietnamese in the US, both without proper permission. Their manager explained that Huynh Thuy Anh was visiting relatives in the US when she was invited to compete, and did not have time to lodge the necessary request for permission. Cao Thuy Linh was also invited by the organisers, but did not have time to lodge an official request because of the short admission period. The HCM City Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism said only established title holders of national beauty pageants could participate in international contests. In 2013, illegal pageant participants were fined VND10-15 million (USD476-714). The fine has since been raised to VND15-30 million. Le Minh Tuan, an official at the Department of Performing Arts, said the department did not recognise the titles of illegal contestants. "The media and press still attach the contests with the names of those models and unintentionally encourage and promote them," he said. Another official, Nguyen Thanh Nhan, said, "Many people said we must tighten regulations. But when building the regulations, we must take into consideration the human factor and give violators a chance to recognise their faults and change their behaviour." One model, who asked not to be named, said women in foreign countries are allowed to participate in international contests if they get into the top three of any licensed beauty pageant. In Vietnam, only title holders were allowed to compete outside the country. Vestiges of ancient village found on northern riverbank A 10,000 sq.m archaeological site believed to be an ancient village dating back 3,500 years has been discovered on the bank of the Pho Day River, northern mountainous Tuyen Quang province. Located at the elevated area of Bai Soi, the village is thought to belong to the Phung Nguyen culture (Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Ages, 3,500-4,000 years ago), said Assoc. Prof. Trinh Nang Chung from the Vietnam Institute of Archaeology. Archaeologists unearthed more than 400 items, mostly fragments of pottery objects used for cooking or storing food. They also found vestiges of three stoves and two large hollows containing black earth and intentionally placed ceramic pots believed to be related to tombs. Chung said the site is crucial to the study of the Phung Nguyen culture in Vietnam’s northern mountainous region, which played an important role in the formation of Van Lang and Au Lac, the first states in the country’s history. Workshop teaches emcee skills American Professor Michael Castengera will return to Viet Nam to head a three-day workshop for professional hosts and emcees organised by the Saigon International Film School beginning on January 12. Castengera will speak about the necessity of having general knowledge of history and social issues, and will teach students how to sit and move, work with the camera, and control their voice and body movements. Castengera, who teaches at the University of Georgia in the US, has more than 40 years of experience in education, communications and television. He works as a consultant to TV stations in the US. He is chief editor of Message from Michael, a weekly blog and e-newsletter focusing on media developments, most particularly new media. More information about the programme is available from SIFS, 15A Hoang Hoa Tham Street, Binh Thanh District, HCM City, and at www.sifs.edu.vn or 0965152310. Da Lat rings in the New Year with cultural festival Da Lat city is saying Auld Lang Syne to the 2014 National Tourism Year with a five-day cultural tourism festival, December 23-27, in celebration of the successful events held throughout the past year. Speaking of the event, Nguyen Thi Nguyen, director of the Department of Culture Sports and Tourism in Lam Dong Province, said the National Tourism Year has been a tremendous triumph for the City and region. It showed not only the tourism potential of the region with its inherently beautiful natural landscapes, but also the many other intrinsic values of tourism as well as the high-quality products and potential of agriculture. The event offers an opportunity to look back and reminisce over the year and enjoy a variety of fun filled and exciting activities including flower displays from the four seasons, food contests, art programmes plus much more. Most notably there are special flower exhibitions, stone and wood carvings engraved with famous poems and songs about the city, and a flower space in Thuy Ta park consisting of 8,000 flower pots and 120 wooden statues symbolizing the ethnic groups of the Central Highlands. VNN/VNS/SGT/SGGP