Vietnam’s ‘ao dai’ to be celebrated in Ho Chi Minh City during March

The 2016 ‘ao dai’ festival is scheduled to be held from March 5 to 19 with multiple activities taking place in locations throughout the southern city.

The opening ceremony is slated to take place at 6:30 pm on March 3 at the Youth Culture House in District 1, followed by an artistic performance under the theme ‘Ao Dai – the Eternal Beauty.’

A series of photo galleries entitled ‘Ao Dai through the Ages’ will be exhibited at the Vietnam National Museum of Fine Arts, Ao Dai Museum, War Remnants Museum, and Chi Lang Park on Dong Khoi Street, from March 5 to 31.

A fair will also be held at the Youth Culture House between March 18 and 20, during which participants can sell and exchange their ‘ao dai,’ along with other accessories including handbags, clogs, hats, and others.

In addition to several other activities running from March 5 to the end of the month, Ho Chi Minh City authorities will organize several journeys called ‘The City of Ao Dai – The City I Love’ starting at the Youth Culture House and incorporating other significant cultural and historic sites of the city, during which time Vietnamese students wearing ‘ao dai’ will travel on bicycles to promote environmental protection.

The bicycle run will take place on each Sunday from March 6 to 20.

Vietnamese women in traditional ‘ao dai’ and straw hats at the Ho Chi Minh City ‘Ao Dai’ Festival in 2015. Photo: Tuoi Tre

An ‘ao dai’ contest is also scheduled, with participants coming from different backgrounds, including Vietnamese schoolgirls, housewives, company employees and female staff from embassies and foreign business associations based in Ho Chi Minh City.

Many other competitions, namely the ‘ao dai’ drawing contest for elementary and secondary school students, the ‘ao dai’ designing contest for university students, a photo competition, and others, will also be held between March 5 and 20.

Several talk shows and presentations focusing on the history and cultural value of ‘ao dai’ will also be run over the same period.

Organizers of the festival will promote the buying of ‘ao dai’ by encouraging owners of tailoring services, businesses and shopping centers to lower the cost and prices of their services and products.

Two young women dressing in bright-colored ‘ao dai’ play Vietnam’s folk game during the Ho Chi Minh City ‘Ao Dai’ Festival in 2015. Photo: Tuoi Tre