Art & Entertainment News 19/6 Canada Day offers food, bull riding and games The annual Canada Day will be celebrated tomorrow at Diamond Island Residences in HCM City's District 2. Canada Day 2015 – Olde Tyme Country Fair will feature fun events for kids and families like haystack hunt, ring toss, watermelon eating contest, and face painting. There will be a bull riding competition, live entertainment by NOLA band and all-you-can eat-and-drink Canadian-style foods. Tickets costing VND850,000 for adults, VND600,000 without drinks and VND400,000 for children from five to 12 are available at the CanCham Office at the New World Hotel. Early bird discounts of 10 per cent are available. A family pack for two adults and two children (and one free adult non-alcohol coupon) costs VND2.5 million. Group and company packages of 10 or more adult tickets get 10 per cent off. Ticket prices include games, activities, food and free flow of beverages. Tickets are limited at the door. The event will start at 2pm. Bao Dai Palace No.1 to be upgraded to tourist resort Bao Dai Palace No.1 in the Central Highlands city of Da Lat is to be upgraded into a resort accommodating a hotel, villas and a restaurant-conference area. The upgrade is called King Palace project invested by Hoan Cau Da Lat company, an affiliate of Hoan Cau Group, at a total cost of VND700 billion (US$32.6 million). It stretches across 182,000 sq.m covering the restoration of Bao Dai Palace No. I premises, a nearby guest house area, a semicircle lake and garden. New amenities include 27 villas of different kinds, a 500-800 seat restaurant-conference area and a hotel with 150-200 rooms. In November 2014, the Hoan Cau Da Lat company splashed out VND100 billion (US$4.6 million) on repairs in and outside the Palace in anticipation of the 2015 New Year holiday. Situated in a romantic hill surrounded by pine forests, Bao Dai Palace No. I, an ancient and magnificent building, was built by a wealthy French official in 1940. Later in August 1949, Chief of State of the South Vietnam Bao Dai bought the villa and renovated it into a headquarters and workplace for his officials. Under the Ngo Dinh Diem administration, the Palace served as a private Presidential residence. It was later used as a resting place for heads of state of the Saigon regime. After the fall of Saigon, the Palace was transferred to local enterprises for tourism purposes but proved ineffective. In the past ten years, the Palace has become dilapidated and is not benefitting local tourism. Encyclopaedia compilation steering council debuts As a country of rich history and cultural diversity, Vietnam ought to have a national encyclopaedia published, declared Professor Dr Nguyen Xuan Thang, deputy head of a council guiding the compilation of the Vietnam encyclopaedia during the council’s debut in Hanoi on June 18. The steering council, set up at the behest of the Prime Minister and chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, consists of 16 members, including eight deputy ministers. It is also tasked with proposing compilation guidelines, directions and measures to the PM and helping him with coordination. The 36-volume encyclopaedia will cover a wide range of knowledge from social and natural sciences, technology, national defence to diplomacy. The council plans to establish 35 specialised sub-committees with 2,000 scientists and experts involved, even including overseas Vietnamese intellectuals. The compilation is expected to begin in 2016. The national encyclopaedia’s focus must revolve around Vietnam-related subjects and be practical, stated Deputy PM Vu Duc Dam. Professor Thang, who is also President of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, said his institution is honoured to contribute to the generation of such a massive collection. Drama festival to present 29 popular plays About 19 troupes will participate in the annual national professional drama festival in the central province of Thanh Hoa from June 21 to July 6. The troupes will perform 29 plays written by popular playwrights such as Xuan Duc and Chu Thom, and staged by noted directors such as Doan Hoang Giang, Le Hung and Anh Tu. The play, entitled Duong Dua Trong Bong Toi (Race in the Dark), by playwright Nguyen Dang Chuong will be performed by the Police Drama Troupe and the Phu Tho Provincial Drama Troupe. While the play has been widely performed by the Police Drama Troupe since 2012, it is being performed by the Phu Tho Troupe for just this festival. "We chose the play as it refers to burning domestic issues such as corruption," said Nguyen Duy Phuong, Director of Phu Tho Troupe. Art program marks 90th Vietnam's Revolutionary Press Day Marking the 90th anniversary of Vietnam's Revolutionary Press Day (June 21, 1925- June 21, 2015) and the 70th anniversary of Independence Day (September 2nd, 1945- 2015), the Standing Agency of Central Committee of the Central Propaganda and Training in Ho Chi Minh City collaborated with representatives of the ministry and department of Information and Communication, the Vietnam Journalists Association in HCMC and HCMC Television yesterday organized an art performance at HTV Theater. All art items were performed by staffs, officials and reporters from representative offices of central press agencies and press agencies in the southern region. Attending in the program were Minister-Chairman of the Government Office Nguyen Van Nen, Deputy Secretary of HCMC Party Committee Nguyen Thi Thu Ha, Head of the Department of Propaganda and Training of the HCMC Party Committee Than Thi Thu. The organization board announced the first winner belonged to Binh Duong Radio and Television. In the talent category, Saigon Giai Phong, Thanh Nien Newspaper, Radio Voice of Vietnam and Vietnam News Agency won the third prize; meanwhile, the first winner went to VTC, and the second prize went to Dong Nai Radio and Television. VNS/VNA/VOV/SGGP