Maison – Long Bien Bridge Festival

22 November 8am-midnight P O S T P O N E D
Long Bien Bridge

2008 HANOI ART AND MUSIC FESTIVAL
LONG BIÊN FESTIVAL “MEMOIR OF A BRIDGE”

LONG BIEN BRIDGE FESTIVAL’S ACTIVITIES

• Official time: 8h – 24h, 22/11/2008
• At the two bridge ends (towards Hanoi and Gia Lam): traditional handicraft villages and traditional food stands (19th century and 21st century) will be from 21/11/2008 to 23/11/2008

The festival is divided into 3 main areas with the following activities:

1. The bridge end on Hanoi side
– The 19th century stage: extracts of 19th traditional folk performances (chèo, tuồng, quan họ, chầu văn, ca trù…)
– Handicraft villages: with the presence of 10 famous handicraft villages
– Traditional food stands

2. On the Long Bien bridge
– The opening ceremony: An old steam engine carrying artists and VIP guests from Gia Lam station to Long Bien station to inaugurate the festival at the Hanoi-side bridge end. It is followed by:
+ The dragon dance and drum performances
+ The performance to recall the national reunification day
+ The parade of the ethnic minorities as a living museum to show their sumptuous traditional costumes, dances and songs.
+ The 19th century Hanoi costume show
– Other activities will take place during the whole day (22/11/2008):
• Sketching and portraying for participants in the festival
• Exhibition of 100 paintings with the topic “Memories of Long Bien Bridge”
• Exhibition of 100 art photos with the topic “Long Bien bridge- past and present”
• Exhibition of calligraphy pieces in three different styles: avant-guarde style, Han Nom style using sino-letter and Quoc Ngu using roman-letter.
• Decoration and Exhibition of flute kites typical in the Red River Delta
• Presence of street vendors like cốm, flowers, kẹo-kéo, tofu, pho…
• Pigeon competition
• Performance of sky lamps and fire works in the evening
• Mini-classical and romantic concerts on the bridge in the evening

3. The bridge end on Gia Lam side:
– The 21st century stage: Contemporary music shows
– Modern food court: serving fast food and drinks
– Art garden: exhibiting contemporary art works such as installations, scrupture…
– Documentary and video art screening: continuously screening documentary films about Long Bien bridge and Hanoi’s memories.
Besides, on Hong River alluvial plain island right down the bridge, there will be other activities:
– Art installations, giant weather cocks and other original propositions, representative of contemporary art development in Vietnam.
– Flute kite contest in the afternoon
– Buddihism ceremony for peace in the evening followed by the releasing of 10,000 floating candle lanterns.