The opening ceremony took place at a stage on Tau Hu Canal on Ben Binh Dong Street in Ward 13, District 8, with the presence of former Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the People's Council of Vinh Long Province Bui Van Nghiem, Vice Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Nguyen Van Dung, representatives of Ben Tre, Lam Dong, Tien Giang, Hung Yen and Dong Thap provinces along with ornamental flower traders and city residents.
Before the official opening ceremony, delegates performed the New Year's opening ceremony of the red terracotta art road in the Mekong Delta province of Vinh Long and paid a visit to a common area of localities comprising Ho Chi Minh City, Da Lat (the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong), Vinh Long, My Tho (the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang), Dong Thap, Ben Tre.
The “Tren Ben Duoi Thuyen” (On the Wharf - In the Boat) flower fair is one of Ho Chi Minh City’s 19 annual signature cultural and art festivals.
This year, the floating flower fair has gathered 654 stalls and boats displaying various kinds of ornamental plants and flowers, fruits and vegetables serving shopping demand for Tet.
The main stage of the floating flower market was designed on Tau Hu Canal where will take place a performance of a genre of art including music, drama, comedy, cai luong (reformed opera) and don ca tai tu (Southern folk music) every night.
The highlight of the opening ceremony was a vibrant and attractive art program with performances of music and dance and Ao dai (Vietnamese traditional dress) celebrating the Lunar New Year from artists of the Bong Sen (Lotus) Ethnic Music and Dance Theater.
In addition, many activities will take place from now until February 9 (the 30th day of the last lunar month of 2023) within the framework of the floating flower fair for Tet such as unicorn-lion-dragon dance performance, the 11th Art Photography Contest in 2024, a space for Banh Tet (cylindrical sticky rice cake) making, Ong Do (Calligrapher) street, calligraphy writing competition, an exhibition of regional food stalls and so on.
