Art & Entertainment News In Brief Tea ceremony promotes peace A tea ceremony will be held today in Ha Noi to celebrate world peace and the friendship between Viet Nam and Japan. Houunsai Sen Genjitsu, the former head of the Urasenke Chado School, will conduct the ceremony. With the ideal of "promoting peace through a bowl of tea", he has been working towards world peace with tea ceremonies for many years. Genjitsu is 92 years old but still very active in promoting world peace through Chado, a Japanese tea offering ceremony. He was appointed as a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador in 2012 and Japan-UN Goodwill Ambassador in 2005. After the tea ceremony, he will deliver a lecture themed ‘Peacefulness Together for Everyone'. The event will take place on the occasion of United Nations Day at the Ha Noi Law University, 87 Nguyen Chi Thanh Street. . "Enjoy Panama" Photography Exhibition The Embassy of the Republic of Panama in Vietnam will present a photography exhibition as part of the activities to celebrate the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between both countries and The Panama's National Day.  The photography exhibition "ENJOY PANAMA" will open to the public at the National Library of Vietnam, 31 Trang Thi, Hanoi, from October 27 to 30, 2015. The Vietnamese friends can see and admire the beauty of the landscapes, history, culture, folklore and traditions of the isthmian country. Attendees visiting the exhibition will have the opportunity to see that Panama is much more than a canal.  This cultural initiative will be held in coordination and support of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and the National Library of Vietnam in order to promote cultural exchange and strengthen the bonds of goodwill, friendship and good cooperation between the two people. Hanoi Oktoberfest in full swing   The grand opening of Oktoberfest Hanoi 2015 took place at the JW Marriott Hotel Hanoi last night, October 22, with around 1,400 guests joining the fun. The sixth Hanoi Oktoberfest will continue by the hotel’s lakeside from 6pm till midnight on October 23 and 24, creating the authentic atmosphere found in the massive beer halls of the original Oktoberfest in Munich. The team at the JW Marriott Hotel Hanoi are serving a variety of Bavarian specialties typically associated with Oktoberfest, including German sausages and pretzels. Guests enjoy free flow König’s Pilsener, with a real German beer stein as a keepsake. The Anton Show Band play some traditional Bavarian music and more modern songs, with games and lucky draws also held amid the stunning surrounds of the JW Marriott Hotel Hanoi. Impressed by the crowds last year, the Anton Show Band returned to the Hanoi stage for Oktoberfest 2015. Proving to be one of the most popular events in Hanoi this fall, Oktoberfest 2015 attracted a range of official sponsors, including Andritz Hydro, EuroAuto, Rieckermann, Schenker Vietnam, Siemens, Vietnam Airlines, Eleganz Furniture Vietnam, Family Medical Practice, Jägermeister distributors, and Messer Haiphong Industrial Gases. Under the patronage of the German Embassy in Hanoi and the German Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City, the German Business Association (GBA), with its 187 German member corporations, is co-hosting and celebrating Germany’s largest cultural event in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Oktoberfest is the world’s largest beer festival and has been held annually in Munich for 205 years. The 16-day festival, from late September to the first weekend of October, sees nearly 7 million people from around the world descend upon Munich every year. In recent times it has become a tradition for German communities all over the world to also celebrate Oktoberfest. HCM City hosts contest for Asia architecture rookies The 4th Asian Contest of Architectural Rookies Award (ACARA), a stage for the architectural industry to find rising stars, opened at Nguyen Tat Thanh University in Ho Chi Minh City on October 24. It brought together about 30 students of architecture from 17 countries across Asia, including Vietnam, Japan, the Republic of Korea, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Myanmar. The contest aims to support architectural education and nurture the progress of modern architecture. It also provides an opportunity for participants to feel and discuss different styles of Oriental and Western architectures. It reviews, judges and evaluates architectural works and ideas created by students from universities in Asia. The first edition of the contest took place in the Republic of Korea in 2012 and it has been held by one of the Asian countries every year since then. The organising board is composed of a group of architectural experts and scholars within the continent. Italian consulate sponsors concert in town The Saigon Classic Music Group will host an Italian concert with the sponsorship of the Italian consulate general in HCMC late this month as part of the 15th edition of the Week of Italian Language in the World. Music lovers will have the opportunity to enjoy sweet Italian melodies at the concert slated for 7 p.m. on Saturday, October 31 at the Southern Women’s Museum in District 3. It features popular pieces by Italian and other foreign composers via solo, duo and quintet performances with many kinds of instruments, including piano, flute, violin, viola and cello. The show includes Giuseppe Giordani’s Caro mio ben performed by tenor Nguyen Dang Quan and piano accompanist Hoang Hien Lam; Giulio Caccini’s Ave Maria by the Swinging Strings; Enrico Toselli’s Serenata in D Major, Op. 6 by violinist Le Duy Hoa and pianist Nguyen Lu Hiep; Gaetano Donizetti’s Flute Sonata in C major by flute artist Pham Thi Thu Thao and pianist Le Hoa Phong Lan; Franz Joseph Haydn’s Arietta con variazioni Hob XVII:2 by pianist Ho Khanh Van; Vincenzo Bellini’s “Vaga luna, che inargenti” by baritone player Vu Minh Triand pianist Hoang Hien Lam; Antonio Vivaldi’s Cello Sonata No. 5 in E minor, RV40, I.   Largo, II. Allegro by cellist Lai Huy Hoang and pianist Dang Tri Dung, among others. Due to limited seats, spectators are advised to register by emailing to volammk@gmail.com as soon as possible. The organizer will confirm registrations by email. As a non-profit organization to promote classical music in Vietnam, the Saigon Classic Music Group calls for a minimum donation of VND50,000 per person to help support the group in organizing upcoming shows. Cambodian and Thai culture to be introduced in Vietnam A Cambodian culture week is slated to take place in HCMC and the Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang between November 8 and 14, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced Wednesday. Co-organized by the Vietnamese culture ministry and Cambodian Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, the Cambodian culture week will feature a delegation of 35 Cambodians, according to the Vietnam News Agency. A Cambodian art performance is scheduled for November 12 and 13 in Soc Trang. On October 27, a Thai art troupe is set to arrive in Hanoi for the traditional Thai Loy Krathong festival, which will be held by the Vietnam Performing Arts Centre in collaboration with the Thai Embassy in Vietnam. The festival is to celebrate the 39th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and Thailand. Loy Krathong is considered the most romantic festival of the Thai people using aromatic candles, flower garlands and colored lanterns, which is held to express gratitude to Goddess of Water Phra Mae Kongka. German Ball Saigon 2015 to return in November The German Business Association (GBA) and the German Industry and Commerce (GIC/AHK) announced that the German Ball Saigon 2015 will be re-launched on November 21 at the InterContinental Asiana Saigon. The German Ball is a traditional black-tie ballroom dancing event. The organizers expect to welcome over 380 guests, aiming to make the event the largest gathering of high-level personalities of the German and international community in the city. Two German music bands will perform during the event. The 2015 year is en especially important year for the German Ball since it ot only marks the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Germany, but also celebrates 20 years of the GBA in Vietnam. The event will therefore be important one to jointly celebrate these two milestones for the German and Vietnamese business community. The program is supported by prestigious brands including Becks, Bosh, Rodl Partner, Deutsches Haus Vietnam, Emirates, B.Braun, Samhammer, TerraVerde and Viet Thuong… Hanoi expedites Ca Tru singing preservation Cultural experts and Ca Tru (ceremonial singing) aficionados in Hanoi gathered at a talk held in the city on October 22, discussing measures to preserve this intangible cultural heritage. Ca Tru, also known as Hat a dao, is an ancient type of music featuring female vocalists. It originated in northern Vietnam and was, like many traditional music genres, a form of entertainment for the royal court.  Hanoi is now home to 14 ceremonial singing clubs who feature over 30 different musical forms of melodies and ancient dances while composing additional 18 melodies to perform for local residents and tourists. In the past few years, the clubs have made significant contributions to preserving the art form by passing the old repertoire on to younger generations through free training classes. However, the teaching has been hampered because the youth are not passionate enough to pursue the art while the older artisans are suffering from failing health. Human training is central to the development of Ca Tru, believed Tran Thi Hanh, a cultural official from Dong Anh district speaking at the talk, saying that the city needs to set up mechanisms and create preferential policies for the holders of the heritage. According to the cultural researchers, since Ca Tru singing was recognised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) as an Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Protection in October 2009, Hanoi has taken initial steps to offer protection to the ceremonial singing. PhD Le Thi Minh Ly, Director of the Centre for Cultural Heritage Research and Promotion, suggested that Hanoi should conduct a comprehensive evaluation of Ca Tru over the past six years to seek solutions to bring the art off the urgent protection list. The city needs to build protection projects in the next two years, spread Ca Tru among the public, organise performances and push the heritage’s education, Ly highlighted. She also said that in the long term, detailed and specific orientations and mechanisms should be set up to promote Ca Tru. Ca Tru is a complex form of poetry using lyrics written in traditional Vietnamese verse. Originally, it was a form of entertainment for the wealthy and was often performed for royalty. The various forms of Ca Tru fulfilled different social purposes, including worship singing, singing for entertainment, singing in royal palaces and competitive singing.  This kind of singing is now practiced in 15 provinces and cities throughout Vietnam. French food festival shines in HCM City The sixth “Balade en France”, a festival featuring French food and wine, is taking place at the Equatorial hotel in Ho Chi Minh City from October 23-24. The event, organised by the Consulate General of France in Vietnam, is drawing the participation of over 20 French businesses in the fields of restaurants, gastronomy, and food distribution. The event is held to promote the French culture through food, wine, music and entertainment activities. At the event, attendees have a chance to enjoy French dishes and wines as well as other specialties from the European country, including cheese, syrup, and chocolate, all at preferential price. Three French bands based in Vietnam – The Blues Buddies, Gwenilli, Peche a la Mouche – also perform on stage. The annual festival is expected to attract 2,000 participants, after welcoming 1,750 guests last year, of which 70% were Vietnamese. VNS/VOV/ND/SGT/VNA