Opening of the Ooc Om Boc Festival - Ngo Boat Racing in Can Tho City in 2025

On the evening of November 3, at Bach Dang Square, Phu Loi Ward (Can Tho City), the opening ceremony of the Ooc Om Boc Festival - Ngo Boat Race in Can Tho City in 2025 took place. The festival took place from November 3 to 5, with many exciting activities, the highlight being the Ngo Boat Race on the Maspéro River in Phu Loi Ward and Soc Trang Ward.

Attending the event were comrades: Lam Van Man, member of the Party Central Committee, Chairman of the National Assembly's Council for Ethnic Minorities; Le Quang Tung, member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Can Tho City Party Committee...

According to the leader of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Can Tho City, the Ooc Om Boc Festival - Ngo Boat Race in Can Tho City in 2025 is an opportunity to honor the traditional cultural beauty of the Khmer people in the city, especially in festival cultural activities. The festival meets the thoughts, aspirations, and needs for cultural and spiritual life of the ethnic groups in the city in general, and the Khmer people in particular.

Chairman of Can Tho City People's Committee - Truong Canh Tuyen delivered the opening speech of the Festival.

In addition, the Festival also aims to preserve and promote the cultural values ​​and beliefs of the Khmer people and diversify activities, creating unique experiences to attract and promote tourism potential and strengths, contributing to attracting and mobilizing investment resources to develop tourism infrastructure. The main activities taking place at the Festival demonstrate the uniqueness and rich cultural identity of the Khmer people in Can Tho City.

Delegates attending the opening ceremony of the Festival.

The highlight of the Opening Ceremony is the special art program consisting of three chapters: "Telling stories on the moonlit night" - reenacting the moon worshiping ritual, pounding flat rice and Khmer cultural legends. "Song of solidarity racing" - honoring the spirit of solidarity and the aspiration to rise through the image of Ngo boats cutting through the waves. "Can Tho - In harmony with heritage" blends traditional and contemporary sounds, praising the city of innovation and integration. The program was elaborately staged, combining many art forms, including traditional art of the Khmer people in the South; using sound and lighting systems, LED screens, modern projection technology; the content focuses on expressing the cultural characteristics of the three ethnic groups Kinh - Khmer - Hoa, reflecting the spiritual and cultural life, especially the traditional culture and beliefs of the Khmer people in the South.

Some cultural performances imbued with national identity at the Opening Ceremony.

In particular, the Ngo boat race is the highlight and attracts the most people and tourists to participate in the Ooc Om Boc Festival, with the competition of 53 male boat teams and 8 female boat teams (of which Can Tho city has 45 male boat teams, 3 female boat teams; Ca Mau registered 8 male boat teams and 5 female boat teams). The race will take place at the Ngo boat racing grandstand in Soc Trang ward. At 12:00 on November 4, the tournament will open, competing in 2 events including the qualifying round of the men's 1,200m distance and the group stage until the quarter-finals of the women's 1,000m event. At noon on November 5, the semi-finals and finals of the women's 1,000m event will continue; the second stage will compete until the final of the men's 1,200m event.

Within the framework of the Opening Ceremony, there was a ceremony of releasing Water Lanterns on the Maspero River.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Chairman of Can Tho City People's Committee - Truong Canh Tuyen said that Ooc Om Boc Festival is a traditional festival of the Khmer people in the South, held on the full moon day of the 10th lunar month every year. Ooc Om Boc Festival is one of the national intangible cultural heritages recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Through the festival, it aims to honor the traditional cultural beauty of the Khmer people in the city, meet the thoughts, aspirations, and needs for cultural and spiritual life of the ethnic groups in the city in general, and the Khmer people in particular; at the same time, contribute to preserving and promoting the cultural values ​​and beliefs of the Khmer people.

This is a highly anticipated cultural event that attracts the attention of people inside and outside the city, especially Khmer people in provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta region.

Source: https://cand.com.vn/Chuyen-dong-van-hoa/khai-mac-le-hoi-ooc-om-boc--dua-ghe-ngo-tp-can-tho-nam-2025-i786892/