Art & Entertainment News 30/3 American fast food franchise makes longest sandwich in VN American fast food franchise Subway yesterday (March 27) made a giant 18-metre submarine sandwich at its store in Kumho Asiana Plaza, the longest ever made in the country, to spread the message of a healthy eating style. Made from braided bread, it was topped with beef, pork, chicken, and vegetarian options like lettuce, pickled cucumber, green and red capsicum, tomato, red onion, and black olive. "In a modern lifestyle, eating fast food is inevitable," a restaurant spokesperson said. "The event aims at encouraging and spreading a healthy lifestyle by offering fast food which is also healthy." Around 200 young people tasted the sandwich for free and took part in interactive activities to learn about its ingredients. Subway also gifted half of it to the Thao Dan Social Protection Centre set up in 1992 to house street children. Subway has around 44,000 outlets world-wide, including 150 in Singapore, 200 in Malaysia, and five in Viet Nam. New musical film to be broadcast next month Director Hoang Thanh Du's musical film Mot Thoi De Nho (A Moment to Remember) is now in post-production and expected to be broadcast on Viet Nam Television next month. The film is a love story about a young girl and a navy soldier who face challenges in protecting their relationship. It uses famous songs in praise of the country written by talented composers such as Phu Quang, Tran Tien and Pho Duc Phuong. The director Du invited pop star Thanh Lam and young signers Thu Minh, Nguyen Long and Hoang Viet to play leading roles. The film includes beautiful scenes in remote areas of Son La, Moc Chau and Thai Nguyen provinces. Vietnam’s culture promoted in Australia A series of events have been organised by the Consulate General of Vietnam in Perth, Australia to promote Vietnamese culture in local communities. An exhibition on Vietnamese cultural heritages, the second of its kind, ran from March 15 to 24 as part of the Western Australia Heritage Festival. The event featured a collection of sophisticated hand-embroidered artwork by Vietnamese craftsmen reflecting the country’s rich history of silk farming and weaving. Ceramics, water puppetry, Vietnamese calligraphy and lacquer paintings were also on display. A fashion show to introduce traditional ASEAN and Western Australia (WA) costumes was held on March 21 by the ASEAN Consulate General in coordination with the Country Women’s Association of WA (CWA) to celebrate the International Women’s Day. These events are tangible evidence of growing multi-faceted relations between WA and Southeast Asian nations, said Minister of Energy, Citizenship and Multicultural Interests Mike Nahan in a speech before the fashion show, adding that he highly appreciated the contribution of local ASEAN communities to the socio-economic and multicultural development of the state. For his part, Consul-General Le Viet Duyen stressed the ASEAN’s responsibility in protecting and promoting women’s rights as well as their role in building the ASEAN Community. He hoped the women of both sides would play a part in strengthening the forty-year strategic partnership between the ASEAN and Australia. In Darwin, Northern Territory, the Consulate General of Vietnam hosted a reception for local Vietnamese nationals on the occasion of the Lunar New Year. Event participants included Northern Territory Chief Minister Adam Giles and senior state officials. HCM City literature, art and press award kicked off A literature, art and press award called “Studying and Following President Ho Chi Minh's Moral Example” has been launched by the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee's Department of Propaganda and Education. Submissions are art works in various genres, such as literature, music, photography, poetry, movie, dance, stage, fine arts, newspaper articles and more. Individuals and organizations should send the submissions to the Ho Chi Minh City Journalists Association and Department of Culture, Sports from now until April 12. The award ceremony will be held in May on occasion of celebrating the 125th birthday of President  Ho Chi Minh. Thai Cultural Weekend opens Visitors to a weekend Thai festival at the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology can mingle with artistic dance performers and learn about the country's cuisine. The Thai Cultural Weekend, which starts on March 28, will showcase artistic Thai dance movements from different regions, said Panyarak Poolthup, Thailand's ambassador to Vietnam. Visitors can also sample Thai dishes prepared by one of the best Thai restaurants in Hanoi. The Bunditpatanasilpa Institute sent 25 artists to perform traditional and contemporary dance pieces including Khon (Ramayana masked dance), the four-region dance, a dance worshipping the god king and a cock-fighting dance. Khon is the most stylised Thai dance form. It is performed by troupes of silent dancers, while a stage-side chorus tells a story to go along with the traditional choreography. Costumes are dictated by tradition, with good and evil angels wearing colourful masks. Each day, they will present two shows at 10am and 3pm. Between performances they will interact with audiences and teach them about the dances. This event marks the beginning of a series of cultural events held under the Cultural Co-operation Agreement between Thailand and Vietnam. It was signed during Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha's official visit to Vietnam last year. "I hope this event will contribute to greater cultural understanding between Thailand and Vietnam, as envisioned by our leaders when they decided to elevate relations to the level of Strategic Partnership," he said. Contest offers writers chance to experience New Zealand   A writing contest on discovering New Zealand launched in Ha Noi carries an all-expenses paid trip to the country as a grand prize. The New Zealand – New Horizon contest, organised by the New Zealand Embassy and online newspaper vnexpress.net, is open to all Vietnamese citizens who have to make their submissions by April 17. The participants should describe their sense of New Zealand – the country, its people, unique culture, education, exciting adventure tourism, fresh food and beverage, spectacular natural landscapes, cosmopolitan cities or any other characteristic of New Zealand they want to write about. Entries should be presented in a creative way in clip/image/text forms, and uploaded on to vnexpress.net. "The format for the contest is very open," said Ambassador Haike Manning. "The genre and inspiration for the entries are not limited. We're looking for Vietnamese people's creativity and special interest in New Zealand. "The competition is a great chance for New Zealand lovers amongst the Vietnamese public to share their thoughts, feelings and dreams of the country and for these interesting slices of New Zealand to be shared with yet-to-be-New Zealand lovers in Viet Nam." The competition is one of a several events celebrating 40 years of friendship and diplomatic relations between the two countries. The events will introduce New Zealand to Vietnamese people through cuisine and wine festivals, education and culture exhibitions and fashion shows. The New Zealand Embassy will offer additional prizes for entries posted on the embassy's Facebook page that receive the greatest following. Sai Gon Cyclo Challenge raises $31,000 for disadvantaged kids The 15th Sai Gon Cyclo Challenge held in Celadon City, Tan Phu District, last Sunday raised more than US$31,000 for activities and programmes to help educate disadvantaged children and give them a start in life. Twelve teams entered this year – Caravelle Sai Gon, Celadon City, Crown Relocations, Giant, Hitachi Asia Viet Nam, Hoang Long - Hoan Vu, Murphy Oil, Pizza Hut, Hard Rock Cafe, HSBC, Schindler, and YAN Group. After more than three hours of racing, team challenges and hard competition, Pizza Hut overtook valiant Crown almost at the finish to become the champion. Caravelle Sai Gon won the creative cyclo decoration competition with its signature purple colour and elegant style. The event also set a fun Guinness world record for the most number of people (15) sitting on a cyclo. More than 1,000 participants and spectators came to enjoy entertainment including cyclo racing, cheerleading, team challenges, live music, a raffle and free food and drinks. Various activities held as part of Vietnam Book Day Various activities are being held across the country in April, 2015 for Vietnam Book Day (April 21), according to the Ministry of Information and Communications. Accordingly, ‘Publishing Book Month’ and ‘Publishing Book Week’ will be held from April 1 to May 1 to celebrate Vietnam Book Day. The Ministry of Information and Communications and the Hanoi People’s Committee also directed the Vietnam Department of Printing and Publishing and the Vietnam Publishing Association to organise a book street to be held from April 17 to 21. Additionally, the Vietnam Department of Printing and Publishing will hold a series of workshops and talks on books and reading culture. Audiences will have the opportunity to talk with Vietnam’s leading writers, scholars and individuals who have made great contributions to the development of reading culture in Vietnam. The Ministry of Information and Communications will co-ordinate Vietnam News Agency, Vietnam Television and the Voice of Vietnam to promote the activities celebrating Vietnam Book Day. The ministry also will co-ordinate with Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to organise other activities at the National Library and Van Mieu-Quoc Tu Giam complex. Vietnam’s Book Day aims to affirm the values books can bring to humanity and to encourage Vietnam’s reading culture. Photo exhibition on Hue heritage opens The Hue Monuments Conservation Centre (HMCC) unveiled a photographic exhibition entitled ‘The Rise of Hue Heritages’ on March 26. The event celebrates the 40th anniversary of the liberation of Thua Thien - Hue province (March 26, 1975-2015). The exhibition features over 100 photographs reflecting the royal relics of Hue in the context of different periods throughout history. According to HMCC Director Phan Thanh Hai Thua Thien - Hue is home to many valuable heritages of Vietnam, including the ancient imperial relic site in Hue city, which is a UNESCO-recognised World Heritage site. In the past, financial and technical support from various sources both at home and abroad has enabled the HMCC to restore a lot of wooden architectural buildings and gain valuable experience, he added. Also on March 26, the HMCC reviewed the outcomes of the project, which will restore Thai Binh Lau, a relic in the ancient Hue imperial citadel. The project was implemented from August, 2010 to March 2015 with a total cost of nearly VND17.4 billion (over US$800,000) 200-meter water slide set up in town People in HCMC can come to the first outdoor water slide on the street which has been brought to Vietnam for the first time at Phu My Hung Urban Area in HCMC’s District 7 to cool down the heat from now until March 29. Being 200 meters in length and 6 meters in width, the water slide meeting international standard has been set up along Nguyen Khac Vien Street, the organizer, shampoo brand Clear of Unilever Vietnam, announced Tuesday. Participants in the game are invited to go through different challenges including water shooting, whirling water, strong wind, cold water, and pass a waterfall of four meters high, beside some other games to win valuable gifts from the organizer. .To join the water slide, those who interested can buy Clear shampoo products to look for a chance to get the ticket at Circle K stores around the city or participate in the lucky draw on the Facebook page or the online game of Clear to win the ticket. Source : VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri