In the early days of May, all localities in the province are bustling and excited with the "Sen Village Singing" Festival from the grassroots to the district level, preparing for the provincial Festival taking place on May 14-15. Mr. Le Thanh Hung - Director of the Center for Culture - Sports and Communication of Hung Nguyen district said: "Every May, the "Sen Village Singing" Festival becomes a unique cultural activity that both shows the artistry and carries a respectful spiritual nuance in the cultural and spiritual life of the people of Hung Nguyen district in particular, Nghe An province in general. This year, the "Sen Village Singing" Festival of Hung Nguyen district was organized methodically at the grassroots level, attracting a large number of people to participate, enjoy and cheer. At the district level, agencies and units also invested in building elaborate and thoughtful art programs."
Ms. Hoang Thi Nga - cultural officer of Long Xa commune said: "In the past few days, more than 20 members of the commune's mass art troupe have enthusiastically participated in practicing to best prepare for the "Sen Village Singing" Festival in Hung Nguyen district in 2023. Although the time is a bit tight, the spirit of the brothers and sisters is very excited, enthusiastically practicing because participating in the Festival, we have the opportunity to express our feelings and gratitude to beloved Uncle Ho, to experience and learn from other teams to practice more cultural and artistic skills, creating motivation to complete daily tasks well".
Nam Dan District - President Ho Chi Minh's hometown these days also welcomes many pilgrims to Kim Lien Relic Site. All are radiant with happiness when setting foot in the beloved homeland of Uncle Ho and deeply moved by the stories about his childhood in"Hoang Tru, mother's hometown and Lang Sen, father's hometown".
At Sen Village, Uncle Ho's paternal hometown, Ms. Vi Thi Nga (54 years old) residing in Con Cuong district brought a fragrant lotus bouquet with her family to respectfully offer to him. Ms. Nga said that every year on Uncle Ho's birthday, she and her children and grandchildren go to the Kim Lien National Special Relic Site to offer incense, flowers and visit. Every time she is moved and feels like she sees Uncle Ho's image still in his hometown. Mr. Le Minh Hien from Dong Ha city, Quang Tri province shared: "After many years of waiting, I have come here to visit Uncle Ho's hometown. We are all touched and extremely happy. Learning about each relic and hearing the story of his life, we love him even more."
At Kim Lien Relic Site - where many activities take place on the occasion of the 133rd anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh's birthday (May 19, 1890 - May 19, 2023), Mr. Nguyen Bao Tuan - Director of the Relic Site said: "Since the beginning of the month, every day the Kim Lien Relic Site has welcomed thousands of visitors. Therefore, the Relic Site has had to mobilize the maximum number of staff and employees to do reception, ceremony, introduction, explanation, landscape decoration, environmental sanitation... to best serve visitors. Recently, in preparation for the Sen Village Festival, the Relic Site Management Board coordinated with the Ho Chi Minh Museum and artists and businessmen in Nghe An, Binh Duong, and Ho Chi Minh City to organize activities including: Opening the exhibition "Simple but noble examples", introducing paintings about President Ho Chi Minh and coordinating with the Thanh Hoa Provincial Cultural Center to display the cultural space of Thanh Hoa province. During the days of the festival At the festival, at the relic site, meaningful activities will take place such as: Performing Nghe Tinh Vi and Giam folk songs and performing arts exchanges to serve the people; displaying typical products, OCOP products in and outside the province...
For over 40 years, the Sen Village Festival has been an important cultural event in the spiritual life of the people, an opportunity for people across the country in general and Nghe An in particular to express their respect and infinite gratitude to beloved Uncle Ho. Originating from the "Songs from Sen Village" festival in 1981, in 2002, the "Songs from Sen Village" Festival was upgraded to "Sen Village Festival" and organized annually at the provincial level and every 5 years at the national level. The influence of the Sen Village Festival is increasingly stronger, contributing practically to the work of preserving and promoting the cultural values of Ho Chi Minh and becoming a national cultural beauty. This is also one of the attractive tourism products for domestic and foreign tourists.
Comrade Tran Thi My Hanh - Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Director of the Department of Culture and Sports said: After 3 years of having to limit many activities due to the Covid-19 epidemic, this year's Sen Village Festival aims to celebrate the 155th anniversary of the birth of Ms. Hoang Thi Loan, the 133rd anniversary of the birth of President Ho Chi Minh, planned by the Provincial People's Committee with many large and meaningful programs. The festival will be organized on a large scale, with many new and unique programs, many television bridges across the country...
Accordingly, the opening ceremony of the Lotus Village Festival combined with the art program "Mother of Lotus Village" to celebrate the 155th anniversary of the birth of Ms. Hoang Thi Loan and the 133rd anniversary of the birth of President Ho Chi Minh will be broadcast live on VTV via a television bridge in Vinh city and the Huong River Theater (Hue city, Thua Thien - Hue province) on the evening of May 12. The closing ceremony of the Lotus Village Festival will take place on the evening of May 19 at Ho Chi Minh Square with the highlight being the special art program "From Lotus Village to the city named after Him" by the Department of Culture and Sports of Nghe An in coordination with the Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City.
During the Lotus Village Festival, the "Song of Lotus Village" Festival is the content that attracts a lot of attention from the masses - an opportunity for mass art troupes to exchange and share experiences to promote and develop the mass art movement, thereby preserving, maintaining and promoting the cultural heritage and arts typical of each locality and region. Another highlight of this year's Lotus Village Festival is that for the first time, a large-scale Street Festival will be held on the walking street, Ho Tung Mau Street, Vinh City with the theme "Homeland in the lotus blooming season". There will be cultural and artistic performances combined with modern stage art techniques, sound and light by many art troupes inside and outside the province. This is a major cultural and artistic event, affirming a Nghe An rich in cultural identity that is developing and integrating to become an attractive destination on the country's tourism map.
In addition, there are also sideline activities of the Festival such as: Vi and Giam folk song performances and art performances at Kim Lien Relic Site to serve tourists; Volleyball tournament and traditional martial arts tournament; Organizing Famtrip and Presstrip groups "About Sen Village"; Culinary contest of dishes made from lotus; Organizing the contest "Uncle Ho in the hearts of Nghe An youth" to celebrate the 133rd birthday of President Ho Chi Minh (May 19, 1890 - May 19, 2023); Hot air balloon festival - Fly Up Vietnam - Cua Lo 2023...
“The 2023 Lotus Village Festival is not only a festival of Nghe An but will become a great festival of the people of the whole country. The festival promises to be a great success, leaving many deep impressions on the masses and tourists from near and far, contributing to the development of tourism, promoting the image of Nghe An to domestic and international friends. This is also an opportunity to promote the movement of studying and following the ideology, morality and style of Ho Chi Minh, building Vietnamese culture and people to meet the requirements of sustainable development of the country. The new and unique activities at this year's Lotus Village Festival will be a premise towards the 2025 Lotus Village Festival, which will be organized on a national scale,” affirmed Director of the Department of Culture and Sports Tran Thi My Hanh.