Spreading Khmer cultural values

Ngo boats participate in the annual Khmer Cultural, Sports and Tourism Festival in the province. Photo: TAY HO

The festival takes place for 3 days, from November 4 to 6, 2025 (15 to 17 of the 9th lunar month) in Go Quao commune, on the occasion of the Ok Om Bok festival of the Khmer people, with many joyful and attractive activities, in accordance with the traditions and customs of the Khmer people. The number of athletes and actors registered to participate in the festival activities has increased significantly compared to previous times. It is expected that this year's festival will attract about 200,000 - 250,000 people and tourists from inside and outside the province to participate.

The festival is organized in two main parts: the ceremony and the festival. The ceremony includes the opening ceremony taking place at 7:30 a.m. on November 5, 2025... In the evening of the same day, the moon worshiping ceremony will take place - a traditional ritual of the Khmer people, expressing the wish for national peace and prosperity, favorable weather, a prosperous life, bountiful harvests, and happy families. The contents of the ceremony are held at the grandstand on the bank of Cai Lon River.

The festival has many outstanding and unique activities such as: Displaying images and artifacts with the theme "Colors of Khmer cultural heritage in An Giang province"; competition to make beautiful water-land frames; performing arts and traditional Khmer art festivals; sports competitions; fairs, trade exhibitions and OCOP products... The highlight of this year's festival is the Ngo boat racing for men and mixed men and women.

This year's Ngo boat racing tournament has 57 male and mixed-gender Ngo boat racing teams, with 4,275 athletes participating. Specifically, there are 21 men's 800m racing teams, 22 men's 1,200m racing teams, and 14 mixed-gender 800m racing teams.

- Reporter: In addition to honoring Khmer cultural identity, this year's festival also aims to develop sustainable tourism and build grassroots cultural life. What solutions does the Department of Culture and Sports have to link cultural values with local tourism development?

- Mr. Tran Nguyen Ba: The festival is not only an occasion for cultural exchange, honoring the cultural identity of the Khmer people, but also an opportunity to promote local economic, tourism and trade development. Through exhibition booths and fairs, An Giang's typical products such as rice, seafood, handicrafts, and OCOP products are introduced to visitors inside and outside the province.

The Department of Culture and Sports cooperates with tourism businesses to build a value chain from producing souvenirs, clean agricultural products to serving tourists. At the same time, invite travel businesses and investors to visit and connect at the event, thereby promoting the local tourism potential. Develop a cultural tourism commune, in which the Khmer community is the subject of preserving and exploiting heritage. Promote the movement of the whole people uniting to build a cultural life associated with the criteria of green, clean, and friendly tourism. Mobilize social resources to upgrade cultural and tourism infrastructure such as roads, signs, and rest stops.

Thus, the goal is not only to honor Khmer national identity but also to turn culture into a resource for sustainable development, creating livelihoods, improving and enhancing people's lives.

- Reporter: From the perspective of a cultural and sports management agency, what do you expect after this festival ends?

- Mr. Tran Nguyen Ba: Our greatest hope is that the unique cultural values of the Khmer people will continue to be strongly spread in community life. The festival is an opportunity for the people to express their identity through language, writing, costumes, festivals, folk arts..., and at the same time, it is an opportunity for the younger generation to be more proud and raise awareness of preserving the precious heritage of their ancestors.

From the perspective of state management, we hope that after the festival, localities, artisans, cultural and sports clubs of the Khmer people will continue to maintain regular activities, be more creative in teaching and promoting national identity, and link cultural preservation with sustainable tourism development. The festival is also a bridge to strengthen solidarity between ethnic groups inside and outside the province, arouse the spirit of creativity and hard work, contributing to the goal of building an increasingly rich and healthy grassroots cultural life.

We believe that the good echoes of the festival will become the driving force for An Giang to continue promoting cultural strength in socio-economic development, building a strong national solidarity bloc.

- Reporter: Thank you!

WEST LAKE - Performed by TU QUYEN

Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/lan-toa-gia-tri-van-hoa-khmer-a465499.html