Art & Entertainment News 23/3 Entertainment centre opens at My Khe Beach A beach sport and recreation centre, Dana Beach, for tourists was opened at the city's My Khe beach. Nguyen Anh Minh, director of the company Que Viet, said the 10,000sq.m centre offers visitors summer entertainment, water sports, cuisine, a beach bar, the Wynn Lounge and Beach Beer. Tourists can rest on pristine, white sandy beaches and enjoy local seafood and drinks while swimming in the sea. The centre, just 10 minute from the city, can host about 3,000 visitors at the same time for a BBQ party on beach. It is open from 8am to 2am everyday. Dong Nai celebrates 300th anniversary of Tran Bien Temple of Literature   A ceremony marking the 300th anniversary of the foundation of the Tran Bien Temple of Literature (photo) was held in Dong Nai Province, 40km far from Ho Chi Minh City, on March 21. The organization board held to offer incense to pay tribute to individuals and organizations that made outstanding contribution in developing Tran Bien Temple of Literature. Numerous cultural activities, such as art performances, seminar on Tran Bien Temple, exhibition on the history and development of the temple, introduction of a photo collection of photo books were taken place during the event. Built in 1715 under King Nguyen Phuc Chu, Tran Bien was the first temple of its kind in the South that honors Confucius, along with sages and scholars. Nestled near Buu Long Cultural Park, about 3 kilometers from the center of Bien Hoa City, the temple is a peaceful and silent space. Artwork celebrates Vietnam-US diplomatic ties Staff at the US Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City recently worked with artists from the Ben Thanh Art and Frame company to paint three large canvases for the 20th anniversary of Vietnam-US diplomatic relations. The paintings represent Washington DC, HCM City and a specially designed logo that celebrates the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Preparations for the project began two months ago, when the Consulate General decided to highlight the 20th anniversary through artwork. Artists Nguyen Hai Anh, Le Anh Can, and Nguyen Thi Hoai Thuong helped organise the project, and showed Consulate General staff how to paint the canvases. The paintings will hang at the Consulate General in a public area of the visa section, where many Vietnamese will have a chance to see them, according to a press release from the US Consulate General in HCM City. Cultural week in Cuba marks Francophone Day A series of cultural activities including art performance, film screening, photo exhibition, and a French-using writing contest are taking place in Havana, Cuba as part of a cultural and art exchange week, which was held to celebrate International Francophone Day (March 20). The event was organised by the Vietnamese Embassy in conjunction with 14 diplomatic representative agencies of the International Francophone Organisation (OIF)’s other member nations in Cuba and local cultural organisations. In his speech at the event, Ambassador Duong Minh underscored the importance of Francophone organisation in enhancing solidarity, friendship and cooperation among nations, especially in promoting cultural diversity of member states. He affirmed that the event offers an opportunity for French-speaking countries to promote images on culture, country and people of their nation to Cuban people and other international friends. Workshops on history among others to introduce literature, painting art and habits and customs of Francophone countries are also arranged during the week. As an OIF member since 1970, Vietnam has actively cooperated with other member states. The OIF groups 57 member countries and 23 observers. Saigon painting celebrate Vietnam-US diplomatic ties Staff members of the US Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City have joined local artists to create paintings of the city and Washington DC to celebrate 20 years of Vietnam and US’s normal relations. Artists from Ben Thanh Art and Frame walked the consulate staff through the creating of the paintings, which will hang in a public area at the Consulate General, according to a press release. Preparations started two months ago when the US General Consulate decided to celebrate the 20th anniversary of US-Vietnam bilateral relations through art. It chose iconic buildings in Washington DC and Ho Chi Minh City as the subjects of the paintings, including Ben Thanh Market and HCMC's tallest building Bitexco. Consul General Rena Bitter said the anniversary is significant because “as Secretary of State Kerry said on his most recent visit to Vietnam, no two countries have come further together faster than the US and Vietnam.” President Truong Tan Sang and President Barack Obama in 2013 signed a comprehensive partnership agreement between the two countries, marking a breakthrough in the relationship, she said. TV department withholds Vietnam Idol permit The communications ministry has announced it will not consider issuing permits to the Vietnam Idol reality show and several other programs jointly produced by national broadcaster Vietnam Television (VTV) and its partners following recent gaffes on the shows. The Department of Radio, Television, and Electronic Information under the Ministry of Information and Communications has just notified VTV that it will not consider granting certificates of registry to several programs which the television has co-produced with its partners, who have made repeated slip-ups in recent times. The television station’s violating partners are Binh Hanh Dan Co., also known as BHD, and Cat Tien Sa Co., which are both major show producers and film distributors, the department said. Among the programs the permits of which have been withheld is Vietnam Idol, the local version of the world-famous Idols series. The first auditions of this year’s show kicked off this week.   The show, which debuted in Vietnam in 2007, has grown to be one of the country’s currently popular singing contests. The registration certificate will not be granted to other VTV shows such as “Dep Viet,” “Sang Tao Viet,” and “Cai Ly-Cai Tinh,” the departmentsaid. The department will not license some other programs co-produced by VTV and its partners either, like “Chuyen Dem Muon,” “Khi Phach Viet Nam,” and the localized version of “Asia’s Got Talent.” This move resulted from a slew of blunders that have been seen on several VTV entertaining shows, such as gaffes regarding the verifying process of a reality show, use of culturally inappropriate language and images, and rule violations in running advertisements, the department explained. Repeated slips have been aired in VTV programs, it added. The national broadcaster repeated many blunders last year, including the broadcasting of the beheading of a live turtle during a reality show, a suggestive joke in a quiz show, a “Vietnam’s Got Talent” semifinalist mistakenly drinking acid, among others. The latest measure taken by the department is meant to allow VTV more time to tighten its censorship and management of content before airing the shows, according to the agency. The department added it will withdraw the permits of the station’s other programs which remain valid and slap fines in case of blunders. In a similar vein, the Department of Radio, Television, and Electronic Information also instructed that military-run mobile network operator Viettel immediately cease airing unlicensed television channels. A communications ministry inspection has showed that Viettel is currently broadcasting a number of foreign channels including True Tennis HD, Golf HD, and Keeng-VOD trial. The operator has not acquired editorial and production permits for these channels, the department said. The body underlined that Viettel’s airing of such channels is a serious violation of press regulations. Vietnam Television’s VTVCab and AVG, a local media company, which have committed similar offences, are also requested by the department to immediately stop airing unlicensed foreign channels. Int'l delegates participate in friendship spring tour Over 200 delegates and representatives from embassies, diplomatic corps, international and non-governmental organizations in Vietnam, as well as central and local agencies took part in the 2015 Friendship Spring Tour on March 21 in the districts of Quoc Oai and Phuc Tho of Hanoi. Jointly held by the Hanoi Union of Friendship Organizations (HAUFO) and the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations (VUFO) to enhance people-to-people external affairs, the annual event popularizes the country and city's historic sites and landscapes. Thay Pagoda (Quoc Oai district) and Hai Ba Trung Temple (in Hat Mon commune, Phuc Tho district) will be two destinations this year. At the event, Moroccan Ambassador to Vietnam and Head of the Diplomatic Corps El Houcine Fardani held that the program would create a good chance for foreigners living and working in Vietnam to learn more about Vietnam's cultural diversities and heritages. He believed that the activity would contribute to tightening mutual understanding and building a cultural bridge between Vietnam and foreign countries. ASEAN-China Cultural Day held in UK The essence of Vietnamese culture was presented at an ASEAN-China Cultural Day recently held in the British city of Glasgow by the local Vietnamese Student Association (Vietsoc). The event was part of a special diversity week hosted by Strathclyde University to celebrate cultural differences, said Luong Thi Thuy Linh from the organisation board. Linh expressed her pleasure with the Vietnamese delegation’s performance, and said that the university is willing to help organise another cultural day for Vietnamese students in the future. Traditional costumes, cultural performances, cuisine and handicrafts were featured at the occasion, drawing particular attention, said Hoang Ngoc Tram, Vietsoc Glasgow President. The event was attended by the Vietnamese Ambassador to the UK, Nguyen Van Thao, and delegations from four other participating regional Asian countries; China, Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia. Ethnic minority crafts, cuisine to be featured in Ca Dy Commune A cuisine and craft fair will open today at a community-based tourism site in Ca Dy Commune in the central province's Nam Giang District. The event aims to promote community tourism in 12 communes with the participation of travel agencies and tour operators. The commune, which is home to the ethnic Co Tu group, is first tourism site in the mountainous district under the co-operation of the Japanese Foundation of International Development and Relief (FIDR) and Nam Giang District. The commune still preserves traditional crafts such as brocade weaving, love duets and cuisine. Mountainous districts along the former Ho Chi Minh Trail in the central province have developed different community-based tourism sites including Bho Hoong Village, Dhroong Village, Ta Lu, and Ta Bhing. Folk Cake Festival to be held in Can Tho The fourth Southern Folk Cake Festival will be organised from April 27 to May 1 at the Tan An Communal House in Can Tho City's Cai Khe Islet. At the festival, more than 150 kinds of traditional cakes will be exhibited in 100 booths, and there will many activities like cake-making, contests to make cakes, eating and cooking competitions and folk art performances. Le Van Tam, deputy chairman of the city People's Committee, said the festival, an annual cultural and tourism event, was held to preserve traditional cuisines and provide an opportunity to popularise Can Tho's tourism image.  National Assembly launches song writing contest Office of the National Assembly in collaboration with Vietnam Musicians Association held a launching ceremony of song writing contest about National Assembly in Hanoi on March 21. The writing contest is part of activities marking the 70th anniversary of general election of Vietnam National Assembly (June 1, 1946- 2016). Head of National Assembly’s office Nguyen Hanh Phuc announced that all songs had to have idea around theme of democratic, solidarity and unification. The organization board will select the best songs, aiming to describe founding and development progress of Vietnam National Assembly as well as affirm important role of Vietnam National Assembly as the highest representative organ of the people and the highest state power body of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam. The contest is open for inside and outside professional & amateur composers. Each participant should send maximum of two songs. The deadline is on June 30. The award ceremony will be held on October, 2015. VNS/SGGP/VNA/VOV