Tet is always a busy time for HCM City’s entertainment industry and this year has not been an exception. Hundreds of thousands of residents flocked to all entertainment venues in both urban and suburban areas.
The Performing Arts and Cinema Center under the city’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has hosted several professional art performances and movie screenings for residents at public venues like the Gia Dinh No.2 Park in Go Vap District, the National Culture and History Park in District 9, the District 12 Cultural Center, and the Ben Duoc Temple in suburban district of Cu Chi.
During the first three days of the Lunar New Year, around 100,000 residents from suburban districts and neighboring areas were entertained by events at these venues.
Other performance organizers like the Bong Sen Folk Singing and Dancing Theatre, Tran Huu Trang Troupe , and the city’s Modern Music Center also sent their artistes for free to entertain residents in remote areas, former army bases, educational centers and rehabilitation centers.
Some suburban districts have organized their own Tet activities. Binh Chanh District held a Tet fair with several traditional games like walking on a thin bridge, breaking the bell, and dancing between bamboo poles. The fair also included a fruit arrangement contest featuring five Tet specialties that proved to be hugely popular.
Meanwhile, the Cu Chi District’s Cultural Center decided to join hands with the Ho Chi Minh Museum and Southern Women Museum to present a photo exhibition with vignettes from the nation’s cultural past.
One of the highlights of this show was a look back at the history and development of the ao dai, the Vietnamese national dress. In separate counting of the whole exhibition, the ao dai photos along attracted 2,000 visitors a day.
In the urban areas, some popular entertaining venues like the Suoi Tien Culture and Tourism Center, Dam Sen Park, the city zoo, museums and historical sites still welcomed thousands of visitors during first three days of the Year of the Tiger.
Cultural centers in districts and wards also received large crowds during these days.
The District 5 Cultural Center attracted hundreds of visitors every day with various entertaining activities including a Vietnamese-Chinese food exhibition, ca co (a folk music tradition from the Mekong Delta) and tuong (adapted from a Chinese folk music tradition) performances, Chinese lantern shows, and kylin, lion and dragon dances.
Stages and theatres throughout the city have enjoyed huge sales during this Tet season. Tickets for shows at HCMC Drama, IDECAF, Phu Nhuan, Super Bowl, 5B Vo Van Tan, Hoang Thai Thanh, and Nu Cuoi theatres are mostly sold out for the first eight days of New Year.
This Tet has also seen the debut of an animal show presented by the 23-9 Park which hosts a regular circus. Huge crowds were seen at the ticket counter to the circus, most of them children.
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