Hue will return to its quiet rhythm of life to ponder the gains and losses of this big event and to consider its mission to become the “city of festivals” in Vietnam.
Hue Festival 2010 was a young Hue based on ancient Hue, a dynamic city that is integrating into the world, not just a city of old memories. That’s the goal set by the organizing board. Nguyen Duy Hien, vice-chief organizer, remarked that they had “partly achieved” this as Hue Festival 2010 became “more friendly, younger and newer”.
Local and foreign art troupes chose new programs to perform. Traditional and folk arts like Hue singing, quan ho, ca tru, etc., were still on the lineup, but this year they were performed by young singers. International artists were also very young.
The festival also created some new tourism products for Hue to be maintained after the festival, including the tour to Tinh Tam Lake in the Hue royal citadel at night (Nguyen Kings’ royal park) to watch “The Breath of Water”, a love story told through dance. Additionally there is Hue singing, quan ho and ca tru on an underwater stage; the rural market day in Thanh Thuy Chanh village; the tour to orchard houses to discover the art of Hue living.
Many visitors were impressed by two young representatives of Vietnamese contemporary music: pianist Pho An My and singer-songwriter Le Cat Trong Ly.
This was the first time the culture of five continents grouped up in Hue, with over 50 art shows of hundreds of professional artists, 15 festivals, over 40 exhibitions and dozens of cultural and art activities of artists, students and residents.
The festival was a great feast of culture, with “specialties” only introduced in Hue this time.
Answering the question “How has Hue benefited from the festival?”, Director Phan Tien Dung of Thua Thien-Hue Province Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism responded that by June 12, more than 120,000 visitors participated in the festival, including more than 91,000 domestic and nearly 29,000 foreign tourists, up by 30 percent over Hue Festival 2008. Dung added it is more important that Hue was advertised effectively to tourists.
The organizing board made great efforts to renew the festival, but the event was organized similarly to previous ones. It was still a “buffet” with hundreds of “cuisine” offered within nine days, which made customers suffer from indigestion. Not many people tried everything, because there was too much on offer. The media quickly filled up on information, so advertising was restricted.
Many suggested that Hue Festival should be organized year-round, with several days a month, not preparing two years to perform in only nine days. For example, Hue should hold Nguyen Dan Festival (lunar New Year festival) in February, a festival for the youth in March, a Buddhist Festival in May (on the Buddha’s birthday), Tam Giang lagoon festival in June, a sea festival in July, Hue rain festival in November and Christmas Festival in December besides a Relics Festival, a House Orchard Festival, Hue Singing Festival, etc. With festivities throughout the year, Hue will become a real city of festivals.
Many Hue people remarked that they would like to know the expenditures for this event and argued that spending must be huge, sourced from people’s taxes. According to Tuoi Tre newspaper, the capital for only four major festivals was over 15 billion dong (nearly $800,000).
photo by VietNamNetBridge
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