Robbert van de Corput, better known by his stage name DJ Hardwell, will bring his Asian tour “I am Hardwell” to a finale in Ho Chi Minh City with a powerful performance on September 28.

The concert, the first-ever by DJ Hardwell in Vietnam, is expected to attract thousands of fans.

The 26-year-old talent from the Netherlands is the world’s No.1 DJ based on DJ Magazine’s annual Top 100 DJs poll and is widely known for his live sets at major music festivals such as Tomorrowland and Ultra.

Vietnam top singers team up for live show

Ha Tran and Tung Duong, two big names of Vietnamese showbiz, will collaborate in a live concert on August 17 in Hanoi.

The three-hour show, to be held at Melia Hanoi Hotel, will give concert-goers a chance to listen to classic as well as new love songs as interpreted by two of the best Vietnamese singers.

This is the first time that Ha Tran and Tung Duong have teamed up for a concert, which promises to bring an interesting combination of two talents widely known for their originalities.

The artists will perform their hit songs, including those written by famous composer Tran Tien, and introduce listeners to new songs as well.

Ha Tran is considered one of Vietnam’s best female singers. A combination of strength, technique as well as a personal mark she leaves in every song has helped her secure a spot in fans’ heart and remain there even after she moved to America in 2004.

Meanwhile, Tung Duong is one of the most popular young faces, known for his maturity in technique and style.

The concert will start at 8pm at Melia Hanoi Hotel at 44B Ly Thuong Kiet Street, Hanoi. A VIP ticket costs VND2 million ($95) while first and second class tickets cost VND1.5 million ($72) and VND800,000 ($38) each, respectively. To book, please call: 098 205 2186.

The US Embassy in Hanoi on August 12 announced a grant of US$40,000 to the Vinh Phuc provincial People’s Committee for the preservation of Cam Gia temple in An Tuong commune, Vinh Tuong district.

Cam Gia temple was built in 1811. It was recognised as a national relic by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 1996.

The structure has many carvings representing the transitional stage of architectural styles from the post-Le Dynasty to the Nguyen Dynasty.

The funding, provided by the US Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP), founded by the US Department of State in 2001, aims to help countries around the world preserve cultural relics.

Since its establishment, the fund has sponsored more than 800 preservation projects in 120 countries around the globe. Vietnam has so far received US$46 million for 13 projects.

Fashion show promotes Mother Goddesses worship

A collection of ritual outfits used in Viet Nam's Mother Goddesses worship will be displayed in Europe next month.

The collection, created by designer Mai Tran, will be shown on catwalks in Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands.

The event aims to promote the worship and urge UNESCO to recognise it as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

The organisers will also invite famous chau van (ritual singing) artists and leading musicians from the National Cheo (Traditional Opera) Theatre to perform to offer international audiences a better look into traditional Vietnamese arts.

The event is also an opportunity to promote Vietnamese culture, its people and country.

Hanoi’s S.I.N.E dance crew wins BOYT Vietnam

S.I.N.E dance crew from Hanoi won the final round night of Breakdance Battle of The Year (BOTY) 2014 in Tan Binh Sports Hall in HCMC last week.

The crew defeated its rival Big Toe, a popular crew, also from Hanoi, in the final showdown. The two crews will represent Vietnam at the BOTY South Asia slated for August 29 at Bien Dong Park in the central coast city of Danang. They will compete with other 10 rivals in the region to get a ticket to Germany for the BOTY Finals on October 18.

The 35-member S.I.N.E has won numerous awards, including BOTY Vietnam in 2013, BOTY South Asia 2013, Centaur Dance Worldwide championship 2013 and R16 Vietnam championship 2013.

The BOTY Vietnam 2014 contest was organized by SyncNamArt, a community and art events firm for youth.

Originating in Germany in 1990, BOTY attracts around 10,000 participants annually.

Toyota Concert winds up in HCM city

The annual Toyota Classics on August 11 came to vibrant metropolis Ho Chi Minh City, the final stop of its seventeenth trans-national tour starting on the first day of this month.

Under the baton of Japanese conductor Honna Tetsuji, the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra played world pieces mixed with cello sounds by Tran Thi Mo, holding audiences spellbound in classic tunes composed by Glinka, Elgar and Tchaikosvsky and contemporary musician Leroy Anderson.

Vocalist Tung Duong was also on stage, singing popular songs “Truong ca song Lo” (Epic of the Lo River) and “Chiec khan pieu” (Pieu scarf).

Proceeds from the concert, co-hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra and the Vietnam Toyota Foundation, will go to the “Toyota Scholarship for Vietnamese young music talents”.

Following performances in Hanoi, the event also came to Buon Me Thuot city, the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak which is buzzing with the 2014 National Tourism Year themed “High Mountains and Thick Forests of the Central Highlands”.

Toyota Classics has been organised annually from the mid-1990s with many tours to Asian-Pacific countries.

Historical memorabilia donated to centre

Thang Long – Ha Noi Heritage Conservation Centre received more than 500 documents and objects yesterday related to a Communist Party of Viet Nam (CPV) meeting that played a decisive role in the liberation of the South and national unification.

The donated items belonged to delegates attending the conference of the Politburo of the CPV's Central Committee from December 18, 1974 to January 8, 1975. The event took place inside the former Thang Long Imperial Citadel's D67 House and Bunker, which served as the military headquarters of Gen Vo Nguyen Giap during the war against America.

"The centre came up with a detailed scheme to gather materials possessed by the conference participants during the past two years," said director of the conservation centre Nguyen Van Son. "This is a historical event of significance to the national liberation cause and occurred right at the military-headquarters."

Representatives from families of former state, party and military leaders presented the conservation centre with materials and tools the officials used in their daily working life. Among them are books and glasses used by Party Secretary Truong Chinh; clothes, a watch, table clock, CV, bags and Party member card of chairman of the National Council Vo Chi Cong; maps, glasses and Ho Chi Minh badge belonging to Gen Giap.

"I'm so moved that the conservation centre has done something to show gratitude and pay respect to those who defended the nation," said Nguyen Thi Bich Thuan, wife of Le Van Luong, a politburo member and Secretary of Ha Noi People's Committee.

"The collection of materials and objects by the conservation centre is in good time for the 40th anniversary of the South Viet Nam liberation and national unification [in 2015]. My family and others enthusiastically support this meaningful work," said Bui Chuan, son of lieutenant-general Tran Quy Hai, head of the Central Crytography Department.

A display of the memorabilia will be organised soon for the general public.

Book fair to emphasise reading culture

A book fair with the theme Ha Noi – The City for Peace will be held at the Thang Long-Ha Noi Heritage Conservation Centre to raise awareness about the capital's reading culture.

During the one-week event from September 26 to October 2, the fair will present thousands of books divided into several sections.

Books published between the end of the 19th century and the 1970s, including the resistance war against the French (1945-54), will be featured in the Hanh Trinh Cua Sach (The Journey of Books) section.

Several publications, documents and images about the life and career of President Ho Chi Minh will be on show in the Chu Tich Ho Chi Minh Va Thu Do Ha Noi (President Ho Chi Minh and Ha Noi Capital) section.

The event will also include discussions on Thang Long-Ha Noi's culture and reading habits as well as exchanges between authors and readers.

The Thang Long-Ha Noi Heritage Conservation Centre is located at 19C Hoang Dieu Street.

Old Vietnamese posters displayed in Paris

Forty posters printed between 1954 and 1980 to promote the image of Vietnamese women are on display at the Musee Quai Branly, one of the most prestigious museums in Paris.

The display, which runs until the end of September, honours the significant role of the women in different fields of social life during the second half of the 20th century.

During the wars against the French and Americans, Vietnamese women took care of things at home and were also among the brave fighters on the front line.

Co-hosted by the Musee Quai Branly and the Vietnamese Women's Museum in Ha Noi, the display is among a series of activities being organised for the Viet Nam Year in France 2014.

HCMC hosts photo exhibition on Vietnam’s sovereignty

A photography exhibition titled ‘Paracel, Spratly Islands- Vietnam’s sea, islands’ was opened at Ho Chi Minh City Youth's Cultural House on August 10 by Photographer Nguyen A.

The exhibition displayed nearly 200 photos through 100 stories on maritime soldiers, fishermen, who live and working in Paracel, Spratly Islands to protect Vietnam’s sovereignty.

The photos was collected from Nguyen A’s visits to Paracel and Spratly Isands since 2010 until now.

During the exhibition, many attractive activities will be organized such as a talking with maritime soldiers, fishermen, who are characters in Nguyen A’s photos.

On this occasion, photographer Nguyen A also introduces to readers a new book under same title of ‘ Paracel, Spratly Islands – Vietnam’s sea islands’ with more than 1,000 photos.

The exhibition will last until August 16.

Vietnam and Poland martial artists meet in town

Vietnamese and Polish athletes met at a martial arts exchange last week at the Youth Cultural Center in HCMC’s District 1.

The event attracted Vo Quyen sects from Poland, and Vietnam’s Tan Khanh - Ba Tra and Vo Duong Binh Dinh Sa Long Cuong.

At the exchange, the martial arts students demonstrated some moves, using weapons and countervailing in order to communicate, learn and tighten the martial arts spirit between Poland and Vietnam.

Vo Quyen is a martial art originated from Poland but invented by La Duc Trung, a Vietnamese international student, in 1976 at the port city of Gdansk. After nearly 40 years in operation, the martial art was recognized by the Polish government as a legal martial art and are being practiced by hundreds of thousands.

Tan Khanh – Ba Tra martial art was established at Tan Khanh – Ba Tra village of Binh Duong Province in southern Vietnam. Binh Dinh Sa Long Cuong sect was formed by master Truong Thanh Dang in 1930 in Saigon.

Local history movie to screen in U.S. and India

Local director Nguyen Van Luong is in the process of making his new history movie series about King Tran Nhan Tong, which is expected to be first released overseas before coming back to its homeland.

The information was unveiled at a press conference in HCMC last weekend.

Luong has been recognized by the Vietnam Book of Records as the Vietnamese artist who has produced the largest number of films about Vietnam, and its waters and islands.

The movie Phat Hoang Tran Nhan Tong tells the life story of King Tran Nhan Tong from age 16 to 51. In the movie, the writer depicts him as the greatest hero of Vietnam when he twice defeated the invading Mongol Empire. In addition, the movie shows that he was described by the Vietnamese as a living Buddha as he gave up his throne at an early age to seek Buddhism life philosophy. He established his own religious sect called Truc Lam Yen Tu and practiced his faith until he passed away.

According to director Nguyen Van Luong, he has been preparing for this movie for four years. The script was written by Le Phuong, playwright by Trinh Thanh Nha, Le Anh Thuy

together with historians Nguyen Khac Thuan and Duong Trung Quoc, and Zen master Le Manh That.

The movie crew has held many conferences related the movie over the past two years.

Director Nguyen Van Luong said: “Our plan is to start filming from October 2014 to October 2015. In the process, we have been receiving interest from Indian Buddhism Society and Buddhism Research Institute at Harvard University. Therefore, the series will screen in India and the U.S. before its Vietnam premiere.”