The 16th Khmer Culture, Sports and Tourism Festival of Kien Giang Province in 2024 will take place from November 13-16 with a series of diverse events and activities. In addition to the Ngo boat racing festival, which is widely supported by the people, the Khmer Traditional Arts Festival is also a program that attracts a large audience.
Not only locals but also tourists from other provinces came to watch and cheer for the competitions taking place during the festival. Ms. Thi Thanh, a tourist from Tra Vinh shared: “This is the first time I came to Kien Giang to participate in the festival and it was very crowded. I enjoyed watching the Ngo boat race the most and the team I cheered for also made it to the final round. In addition, I was impressed with the performances of traditional costumes and pentatonic music, many contestants were young but played the instrument very well.”
Costume shows, pentatonic music performances and traditional Khmer art performances created a joyful, exciting and attractive atmosphere, attracting many audiences from near and far.
This festival praises the Party, Uncle Ho, the homeland and the country; praises the tradition of solidarity between the Vietnamese ethnic community in the struggle to build and protect the Fatherland, build new rural areas... Introduce the unique features of traditional costumes of the Khmer ethnic group in the South, thereby preserving and promoting the unique features of Khmer ethnic art.
According to the Organizing Committee, this year's festival attracted more than 110 artisans and actors from districts and cities in the province. The units performed traditional Southern Khmer costumes, including: Self-selected costumes and traditional wedding costumes; performed Khmer folk music and art.
Dr. Son Cao Thang - Head of the Jury of the Khmer Traditional Arts Festival in Kien Giang province - commented: "This year's festival has made very clear progress in terms of quality and quantity, from content to form. All of this creates a new and colorful space for the mass art movement in the province."
Dr. Son Cao Thang also added that the contest not only preserves and promotes the rich and unique culture of the Khmer people in the whole province but also discovers and nurtures artistic talents, increasingly meeting the needs of living and enjoying traditional Khmer culture and art in Kien Giang province.
Mr. Danh Dong - Team Leader of Rach Gia City - shared: "The policies of the Party and the State have supported the Khmer people a lot, including preserving the national cultural identity. We will try to preserve and further develop this unique cultural feature. Coming to the contest, we learn and enrich our cultural knowledge."
At the end of the program, the performance of the pentatonic orchestra by Ha Tien City and An Bien District won the A prize. The Go Quao 1, Rach Gia and Ha Tien City units won the A prize for the traditional wedding costume performance. The A prize for the performance of the optional costume belonged to the Go Quao 1, Giong Rieng and Chau Thanh districts. The A prize for the Khmer traditional art festival performance belonged to the Vinh Thuan, Go Quao 1 and Chau Thanh units. The overall excellent award was given to the Go Quao 1, Chau Thanh and Ha Tien units. In addition, the Organizing Committee also awarded the promising actor award to Mai Thi Ngoc Linh from Giong Rieng District.
