The Via Ba Chua Xu Go Thap Festival 2026 is organized on an expanded scale. According to representatives of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Dong Thap, the festival still maintains 2 parts: ceremony and festival, both ensuring solemnity and expanding the experience space, aiming to promote heritage values associated with tourism development.
The ceremony part is maintained with rituals such as: Ba bathing, praying for peace, inviting children, worshiping the God of Agriculture and Chánh tế. These are typical religious practices of Southern Mother Goddess worship, expressing faith in the protection of Ba Chua Xu - a symbol associated with the residents of Dong Thap Muoi since the reclamation period.
In addition, the festival part is vibrant with many cultural and artistic activities such as tourism heritage exhibitions, documentary book displays, classical opera performances, shadow dances, lion - unicorn - dragon and folk games. Go Thap Country Market space and specialty stalls contribute to increasing the experience for tourists.
2026 marks the first time the festival has been organized after being recognized as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage. This event creates more motivation for conservation work, while opening up a direction for heritage exploitation associated with cultural and spiritual tourism development.
In particular, tourism promotion activities are focused on through introducing diverse tours, routes and local products, gradually turning heritage into an economic development resource.
The belief in worshiping Ba Chua Xu in Go Thap has been preserved by the community for more than a century, starting from the temple built in 1914, now becoming an important spiritual activity point in the relic complex. This space also converges many historical, archaeological and religious values, associated with Oc Eo culture and the intersection of beliefs.
Over 100 years, the festival has become a major cultural and religious activity of the Mekong Delta region, attracting a large number of pilgrims every year. Not only spiritual, this is also a space to preserve traditional art forms and maintain community cultural life.
The festival takes place from April 30 to May 2 at the Go Thap Special National Relic Site, an opportunity for people to express gratitude to their ancestors, pray for peace and continue traditional cultural values in modern life.
