Opening Ceremony of the Southern Folk Music and Singing Festival in Can Tho City 2026

VHO - On the evening of May 15th, the opening ceremony of the 2026 Southern Folk Music and Singing Festival of Can Tho City took place at Ben Ninh Kieu Park, Can Tho City. The program attracted a large number of locals, tourists, and artists, performers, and musicians.

Artists and musicians performing at the opening ceremony of the Festival.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Nguyen Minh Tuan, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Can Tho City, said that during the process of reclaiming and expanding the southern land, Southern folk songs were formed on the basis of inheriting the traditional cultural and artistic values ​​of the nation during the southward migration, while adapting to the natural and social conditions of the new land.

Southern Vietnamese folk songs have become one of the unique forms of folk performance, closely associated with the working life, production activities, and spiritual life of the people of the South. Through chants, lullabies, rhymes, children's songs, and spoken poetry, listeners can clearly feel the customs, traditions, lifestyle, and soul of the people of Southern Vietnam.

Mr. Nguyen Minh Tuan, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Can Tho City, delivered the opening speech.

Mr. Nguyen Minh Tuan also emphasized that, in harmony with the cultural flow of the South, Can Tho currently preserves and promotes many unique forms of folk performing arts. Among them, some forms have been included in the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage, such as lullabies of the Vietnamese people in Can Tho, Can Tho folk songs, and Aday singing of the Khmer people in Xa Phien commune…

Over the past period, the art of playing and singing Southern Vietnamese folk songs in Can Tho has always received attention through various performances, festivals, competitions, and solutions to preserve and promote the value of traditional art. As a result, the movement of playing and singing Southern Vietnamese folk songs in the city has gradually developed strongly.

The 2026 Southern Folk Music and Singing Festival in Can Tho City will take place from May 15th to 19th, bringing together over 300 musicians and performers with 64 performances in various genres such as solo singing, duets, trios, group singing, skits, ensemble performances, and solo performances of traditional musical instruments.

Performances at the Festival

Besides Southern Vietnamese folk songs, this year's festival also expanded to include other art forms such as recited poetry and excerpts from classical plays. The content of the performances focused on praising the Party, President Ho Chi Minh, love for the homeland, romantic love, achievements in building and developing the homeland, highlighting good people and good deeds, and building a cultured and civilized urban lifestyle.

The organizers stated that the festival continues to contribute to promoting the quintessential values ​​of folk songs and traditional musical instruments of Southern Vietnam, while also contributing to the preservation and development of folk art and the culture of ethnic minorities in accordance with Resolution No. 80-NQ/TW of the Politburo on the development of Vietnamese culture .

Taking place in the picturesque setting of Ninh Kieu Wharf - a distinctive cultural symbol of the riverside city of Can Tho, the festival promises to bring locals and tourists many attractive artistic programs, contributing to a joyful atmosphere on the occasion of the 136th anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh's birthday.

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/van-hoa/khai-mac-lien-hoan-dan-hat-dan-ca-nam-bo-tp-can-tho-nam-2026-228354.html