Art & Entertainment News In Brief Oktoberfest Vietnam 2015 kicks off at Windsor Plaza   Taking its roots from the original Oktoberfest held in the Bavarian city of Munich (Germany), Oktoberfest Vietnam celebrates the introduction of German culture and partnership to Vietnam. Oktoberfest Vietnam is continuing on October 14 to 17, 2015 at Windsor Plaza Hotel at 18 An Duong Vuong street, District 5, Ho Chi Minh City. This annual event recreates the authentic atmosphere found in the massive beer halls of the original Oktoberfest, complete with savory German cuisine, premium imported German beer, and traditional Bavarian music. New to Oktoberfest Vietnam, the organisers are proud to welcome An Ton show band, a traditional Oktoberfest band which has played concerts worldwide. From beer tents to banquet halls, An Ton show band is famous for their beer-toasting medleys. Everyone from the German, Vietnamese and international communities are invited to witness and enjoy the festivities from the rituals of opening a barrel of beer to wearing traditional costumes, dancing to foot-stomping music, all-you-can-eat authentic German cuisine such as sausages, sauerkraut, sauerbraten and pretzels, overflowing beer, exciting games, prizes, and much more. Guests are presented with a collectible Oktoberfest Vietnam beer stein and have the chance to win exciting prizes from the nightly lucky draws. Oktoberfest is one of the most famous and biggest festivals in the world, tracing its roots from 19th century Bavarian, Germany. In Vietnam, the Windsor Plaza Hotel and the German Business Association have been hosting the event since 2005. Oktoberfest Vietnam was recognised by Reuters as one of the Top 10 Oktoberfest celebrations outside Germany, and was also featured in the Chicago Tribune. Diamond sponsors of Oktoberfest Vietnam 2015 include Rieckermann Machinery & Industrial Solutions and Mercedes-Benz Vietnam. Platinum Sponsors include BASF Vietnam, DNV GL Vietnam, Häfele Vina JSC and Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam Beverage Ltd Co. And this year’s Gold Sponsor is Kärcher Co., Ltd. Second ASEAN Graphic Arts Exhibition scheduled for Hanoi The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has approved a scheme to hold the second Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) exhibition of graphic arts in Hanoi in August next year to mark the 49th founding anniversary of ASEAN (August 8). The event aims to strengthen mutual understanding and cooperative ties as well as expanding cultural exchanges between ASEAN member nations. The exhibition will display graphic works created over the last three years by contemporary artists from 10 ASEAN countries. This is a good opportunity for Vietnamese artists to share experiences with their colleagues from other ASEAN countries. Hanoi to host Spanish concert International artists will play Spanish classical pieces at a concert on Wednesday at the Viet Nam National Academy of Music (VNAM). The concert will take the audience on a musical journey, beginning with the city of Sevilla in southern Andalucia in Spain, with three pieces by Isaac Albeniz and Pablo de Sarasate. Musical pieces on Madrid and the Mediterranean will be performed at the concert. The highlight will be a chapter from the masterpiece Concierto de Aranjuez by Joaquin Rodrigo. The night will end with the piece La Procesion del Rocio by Joaquin Tuirina. Spain's David Gomez Ramirez will conduct the concert, comprising performances by guitarist Nguyen Thanh Hang, violinist Anna Sowanna Takeda and the Ha Noi Philharmonic Orchestra. Ramirez has been director of the Lira Saguntian Symphony Orchestra in Valencia and the Conservatory of Music "Joaquin Rodrigo" in Sagunto, Spain, since 2007. During the past seven years, he conducted all major Spanish orchestras and has appeared as a guest conductor in Europe, Asia and South America, and in musical centres such as Paris, Caracas, Havana and Brussels, besides Ha Noi. Vietnamese-Spanish guitarist Hang was born in Ha Noi. She finished her post-graduation in musical studies at the VNAM and also taught there. She won a scholarship for further learning at Liceu Conservatory in Barcelona. She has participated in many international competitions and has also performed in different countries. She also taught at music schools in Spain and has made solo and duo recordings. A guitar duo entitled Eurasia was set up by Hang and her teacher Joseph Henriquez when she was in Spain. She performed as a soloist at the 50th International Festival of Pollensa in Spain with important figures such as Joan Pons and the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. Hang returned to Viet Nam in 2011 and developed her career. Violinist Takeda began playing the violin when she was just five years old. At the age of 15, the Thai-Japanese violinist won a national contest in Thailand over three consecutive years and won the top prize at the Osaka International Music Competition in Japan. The Ha Noi concert will take place at 8pm Oct 14 at VNAM, 77, Hao Nam Street. Oxen race at Khmer Dolta festival in An Giang     Thirty seven pairs of oxen from 14 communes in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang competed at this year's Bay Nui Ox Race. The race was held at Ro Pagoda in Tinh Bien District's An Cu Commune on Saturday. Chau Soc Khonk, chief monk of Ro Pagoda, said the Khmer community organises the ox race every year during their traditional Sene Dolta festival. After a one-day competition, the pair of oxen owned by farmer Duong Vinh Hiep from Vinh Trung Commune won first prize. The Sene Dolta is one of the most important annual festivals of the Khmer community in the southwest region, along with Chol Chnam Thmay (New Year) and Ooc Oom Bok, a festival thanking the moon for a good harvest. The festival is held from the 30th day of the eighth lunar month until the second day of the ninth lunar month each year. It fell on October 12-14 this year. During the event, the Khmer people pay tribute to their ancestors and take part in activities with traditional songs and dance after a hard-working year. About 400 Khmer people in Tra Vinh Province attended a get-together on October 10 to celebrate the festival. According to Tra Vinh's Committee for Ethnic Affairs, the local government over the last several years has provided assistance to ethnic Khmer for farming activities, reducing their poverty rate by 4 percent. With VND46.8 billion (US$2.1 million) allocated to Tra Vinh from the Government's poverty reduction programme this year, the province has built or repaired 71 infrastructure works serving Khmer production activities. "The Roof" opens at Opera House Choreographer Bui Ngoc Quan's contemporary dance The Roof, set in a maze on a roof, depicts a world that is an escape from busy lives, where people can find freedom and inspiration. The dance piece, which will be staged at the Opera House in HCM City on October 19, has strong movements and artistic visuals with live speaking and singing from the dancers. As a Vietnamese with years of experience living and working in the arts in Europe, Quan encouraged the Vietnamese dancers to freely create, develop and use new body language. "Any audience can feel the connection between their real life and the dance's story," said a press release from HBSO. Artists from the HCM City Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera (HBSO), including Tran Hoang Yen, Dam Duc Nhuan, Nguyen Thu Trang, Sung A Lung, Do Ngoc Thuy, Phan Tieu Ly and Phan Thai Binh, will perform the piece. Tickets, priced at VND550,000, 400,000, 350,000, 200,000, and VND80,000 for students, are available at the venue at 7 Lam Son Square. Female photographers exhibit work The Hai Au Club of Female Photographers has opened an exhibition of photos taken by its members to celebrate the club's 25th anniversary and Viet Nam Women's Day on October 20. Hai Au Tuoi 25 (Hai Au Club's 25th Birthday) displays 51 black-and-white and colour photos of 17 professional and amateur female photographers. Its underlying theme is "the body might be old but not the mind and soul". A photo book of 100 works in the last 25 years is also being shown. On display are several thousand works depicting landscapes, daily life and ethnic minority women and children. "We toured the country to capture the most beautiful and meaningful images of people and their daily life," said 70-year-old Dao Hoa Nu, head of the club, who has won several top prizes in competitions at home and abroad. Established in 1990, the photography club organises regular activities for its members. The exhibition can be seen at the Women's Cultural House, 188-194 Ly Chinh Thang Street, District 3. It will close tomorrow, and then move to Hue and Ha Noi. Technology brought to fashion industry ZALORA, Viet Nam's online fashion website, collaborated with ELLE during its Fashion Journey 2015 held last weekend to bring the most up-to-date technology trends to the fashion industry. Fashion lovers could enjoy real-time check-in features of a professional fashion show and pre-order items from the runway right from their homes. Last weekend, the ELLE Fashion Show Fall-Winter 2015 introduced the newest fall-winter collections of Vietnamese designers Lam Gia Khang, Le Thanh Hoa, Hoai Vo and Linda Mai Phung. All of the 80 pieces of the show were available for checking and pre-ordering at www.zalora.vn/elle. Customers at the show could directly scan the QR code on the back of the ELLE Entry Pass, or download the ZALORA App for a real-time check of all the images and information of products. With its experience in online retailing, ZALORA works with ELLE to support the Vietnamese designer community, from online marketing to nationwide logistics and payment services. Ethnic culture village holds market of traditional delicacies The Village of Ethnic Culture and Tourism will host traditional markets offering traditional food and delicacies of localities across the northern region from October 16-18. Visitors will have the chance to taste and try their hand at making hundreds of traditional cakes and dishes, as well as enjoy funny, interesting folk games and puppetry. Later, a so-called Ethnic Great Unity - Vietnam’s Cultural Heritage Week will be held from November 15 to 23 at the village by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) and other central agencies. The week marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the Vietnam National United Front, the predecessor of the VFF (November 18, 1940 – November 18, 2015), Vietnam Heritage Day (November 23) and the Communist Party of Vietnam’s 12th National Congress. The event will draw participation from many ethnic groups, such as the Thai, Kho Mu in the northern mountainous province of Dien Bien, the Ta Oi in Thua Thien Hue, the Cham in Binh Dinh, the M’nong in Dak Lak, the San Chay in Bac Giang, the Hoa and Khmer in Can Tho, and the Kinh in Tra Vinh and Hanoi. Australian Consulate-General launches My Thuan bridge photo competition As this year marks the 15th anniversary of the opening of the My Thuan Bridge, the architectural symbol of friendship and cooperation between the peoples and governments of Australia and Vietnam, the Australian Consulate-General in Ho Chi Minh City officially launched a photo competition that will celebrate the benefits that the My Thuan Bridge has brought to Mekong communities over the past 15 years. The photo competition encourages people living in southern Vietnam, particularly those living in the Mekong Delta provinces around the My Thuan Bridge, to submit photos and relevant captions explaining what the My Thuan Bridge means to them, their family or friends, or the wider community. The best photos will win great prizes including a digital SLR camera Nikon D3300 and an Ipad mini. The competition will run on the Australia on Vietnam Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/AustralianEmbassyVietnam The competition starts now until the 1st of November 2015. Entries can be sent through caumythuan15@gmail.com. In March 2000, the My Thuan Bridge, the first cable-stayed bridge ever, was built in Vietnam. The project showed the strength and longevity of Australia-Vietnam relations. The bridge connects rural communities to commercial centers, allowing for faster access and more effective transportation of goods, services and people. Just a year after the bridge was put into use, the income of the people on both sides of the river increased by 30 percent, and, to date, every year the bridge serves more than 5 million vehicles. The construction of the My Thuan Bridge also facilitated the transfer of Australian skills and knowledge in modern bridge design and construction technology to the Vietnamese people. VNS/SGT/VNA/SGGP