Enjoy homeland festival with Saigontourist

Last year’s My Homeland Festival at Van Thanh Tourist Area in HCMC’s Binh Thanh Province - Photo: Courtesy of Saigontourist

Saigontourist introduces ‘My Homeland Festival’ at Van Thanh Tourist Area in HCMC’s Binh Thanh District from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. on February 10, 11 and 12.

This year’s festival has craft villages, countryside markets and music shows together with food booths set up in each region.

For the countryside market, organizers will take tourists into a colorful trading atmosphere with young staff in costumes of the three regions of north, central and south as well as ethnic costumes of minority groups.

There will be a huge selection of popular dishes chosen from previous festivals and organizers will include Mekong Delta classics from Ben Tre and Dong Thap and southern favorites from Binh Duong, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, HCMC and many specialties from highland regions. Diners will be also served many folk snacks.

Visitors will be entertained with music performances such as cheo, tuong (opera of the north), singing from Hue and the south central region and don ca tai tu (southern opera singing).

Revelers will have a chance to enjoy performances of Khmer artisans from Soc Trang Province, a bamboo instrument show by artists from Buon Don Village in Daklak Province, folk dance and Paranung music shows by Cham artists from Ninh Thuan Province as well as gong performances from talented artists from Gia Lai Province.

For folk games, tourists can join in under the instruction of staff in fun activities such as making to he (a traditional toy for children that is made from glutinous rice powder in the form of edible figurines such as animals, flowers or characters from folk stories), making boats by banana spathes and toys from coconut leaves and kneading statues from clay.

Tourists can witness artisans weaving bamboo baskets, fishing nets and sleeping mats, making Hoi An lanterns, ceramics, brocades, cooking wine, rice noodles, tofu, Trang Bang pan cake and Tra Vinh green rice flakes.

Van Thanh Tourist Area is located at 48/10 Dien Bien Phu Street in HCMC’s Binh Thanh District.