Can Tho River Culture Festival takes place from December 27, 2025 to January 1, 2026

Cai Rang floating market, the beauty of the river region.

* Promoting Can Tho river culture

According to the plan, the organization of the Can Tho River Culture Festival aims to create a cultural and tourism highlight, practically welcoming the new year 2026, contributing to creating a joyful and exciting atmosphere, improving the cultural and spiritual life of the people. In particular, the festival contributes to introducing and promoting the cultural characteristics of the Mekong Delta in general and Can Tho City in particular to people and tourists at home and abroad.

Sunset in the riverside city, looking towards the pedestrian bridge and Can Tho bridge.

At the same time, the festival is also an opportunity to raise public awareness in protecting the environment, especially the river ecosystem, and encourage sustainable tourism development. Enhance the effective exploitation of resources and tourism products on the river; develop inner-city tours, connect river tourism in Ho Chi Minh City and Can Tho City with the Mekong Delta provinces. Thereby, helping to expand the connection to develop tours and river tourism routes connecting with countries along the Mekong River.

This is also a creative way to diversify and enhance the cultural and tourism events typical of Can Tho City, creating a spreading effect, contributing to promoting the development of other economic sectors, contributing to the overall socio-economic development of the city.

* Highlights of the opening night of the river culture festival

Foreign tourists experience Cai Rang floating market.

The 2025 Can Tho River Culture Festival has the theme “Can Tho - Colors of Rivers”, organized at the city level. The City People's Committee is the directing agency; the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the event organizer are in charge of implementation.

The festival takes place from December 27, 2025 to January 1, 2026, with the venue concentrated in the Hau River Park area (Cai Khe ward), Ben Ninh Kieu Park (Ninh Kieu ward) and neighboring areas.

The opening ceremony of the 2025 Can Tho River Culture Festival will take place at 6:30 p.m. on December 27, 2025. The "Colors of Rivers" Parade will start at 6:30 p.m., scheduled on the roads in the city center and on the Hau River. The colorfully decorated boats will parade on the Hau River, demonstrating the beauty of the river culture of the West. At the same time, artists will perform traditional music on the boats, bringing an atmosphere rich in the cultural identity of the South.

Cruise on Can Tho river.

Street Performance Program with dance performances inspired by rivers, showing the combination of traditional and modern art, recreating the vitality and rise of people in the river area. Lion - unicorn - dragon teams perform vibrantly to the background of modern folk music, creating a joyful and bustling festival atmosphere in the street area.

The opening art program will be broadcast live from 20:00, December 27, at the Pedestrian Bridge area, Ben Ninh Kieu Park (Ninh Kieu Ward). The program depicts the unique river culture of the city through stories about boats, activities, livelihoods associated with the river, along with festivals, folk beliefs and cuisine. The program will recreate the image of floating markets and floating market culture (Cai Rang, Nga Nam, Nga Bay), introduced as a unique symbol, contributing to promoting the image of Can Tho tourism.

The drone show and fireworks show will start at 9 p.m. on December 27, right after the art program ends. The program will feature drone light art, combining modern and traditional music to recreate images depicting the culture and traditional values of Can Tho City, the city's heritage and architecture, the vision and direction of the city's future development... In parallel, there will be a low-altitude fireworks show hosted by the City Military Command in coordination with the event organizer.

* Many activities to serve tourists

Within the framework of the festival, the art program serving visitors every night will take place at 7:30 p.m., from December 28 to December 30, 2025, at Hau River Park (Cai Khe ward).

Photo exhibition "Rhythm of life on the river - The West past and present", from December 27, 2025 to January 1, 2026, at Ben Ninh Kieu Park (Ninh Kieu ward);

The decoration of models and miniature landscape clusters will be carried out in the area of Hau River Park (Cai Khe ward) to Ninh Kieu Wharf (Ninh Kieu ward), from December 20, 2025 to January 1, 2026.

The sailing competition takes place on December 28, 2025, on the Hau River.

On December 29, at Cai Khe canal (Cai Khe ward) there will be a Sup boat race.

Cultural tourism of rivers and forests in Cu Lao Dung commune.

The space for displaying, introducing products, typical cuisine, OCOP products, promoting tourism products of localities takes place throughout the festival days, at Hau River Park (Cai Khe ward). It is expected that the space will have a scale of about 150 booths, organizing the display, introduction and business of OCOP products; regional specialties of localities across the country; introducing typical cuisine of localities; displaying publications, showing video clips, promoting tourism products of Can Tho city and other provinces and cities.

Re-enactment of floating market and flowers at My Khanh Tourist Village, An Binh ward.

The culinary promotion program takes place over 2 days, December 27 and 28, at Hau River Park (Cai Khe ward).

The festival's closing ceremony will take place at 7:00 p.m. on January 1, 2026 at Hau River Park (Cai Khe ward).

WATERWAY TOURISM STIMULATION PROGRAM

The program will be implemented in November and December 2025. The organizing committee ordered a cruise business unit to organize an experience tour for delegates and guests. In the morning, visit Cai Rang floating market; in the afternoon, visit and check-in Can Tho bridge at sunset. At the same time, mobilize tourism service businesses, restaurants, and hotels to build and introduce river tours with prices to stimulate tourism.

In addition, from December 15 to December 27, within the framework of the festival, there will be activities to protect the river environment in localities in the city. Localities will organize activities to collect garbage, clean river banks and call for environmental protection.

DANG HUYNH

Source: https://baocantho.com.vn/le-hoi-van-hoa-song-nuoc-can-tho-dien-ra-tu-ngay-27-12-2025-den-ngay-1-1-2026-a192835.html