Ready for the Thu Bon Goddess Festival

Việt Nam•17/03/2024

The People's Committee of Trung Phuoc town (Nong Son district) is urgently decorating the area around the Lady's Shrine. TTT

Thorough preparation

In recent days, residents of Trung An hamlet (Trung Phuoc town) have been busy decorating with lanterns, flowers, and ornamental plants, creating a clean and beautiful landscape around the Lady's Shrine area.

Residents of Trung An Hamlet (Trung Phuoc town, Nong Son district) tend to ornamental plants in the Lady's shrine. Photo: TTT

Mr. Vo Hung Khanh, Head of the Management Board of the Thu Bon Shrine historical site, shared that the residential group promptly organized a meeting with residents, established a ceremonial committee and a reception committee, assigned members to provide logistical support, and developed a specific script for the festival, ensuring a thoughtful and safe welcome for locals and tourists.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thach (Trung An hamlet) said that the women in the village held meetings to prepare various fruits, cakes, and offerings to present to the Goddess, and assigned tasks for cooking and serving to tourists.

Trung Phuoc town decorated 70 pennant flags, billboards, street banners, lanterns, and flower-lined streets along the main roads in the district center and the road leading to the Lady's Shrine. Three miniature landscapes were also erected around the shrine grounds, creating interesting "check-in" spots and attractions for tourists.

Nong Son District invests in the construction and beautification of the road leading to the Lady's Shrine. Photo: TTT

According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Nong Son district, in preparation for the festival, the locality invested nearly 4 billion VND in building an embankment to prevent landslides at Ba Dinh temple, leveling the ground, laying stones, widening the road from National Highway 14H to Ba Dinh temple, and planting trees around the grounds, etc.

[ VIDEO ] - Preparations for the Ba Thu Bon Festival in Trung Phuoc town (Nong Son):

In Duy Xuyen district, the road from Nam Phuoc intersection to the Thu Bon Goddess Mausoleum (Duy Tan commune) has many billboards promoting the Thu Bon Goddess Festival. The area around the mausoleum is decorated with cheerful flags and flowers, creating a clean and pleasant environment. The local authorities are actively promoting the festival to residents and tourists through Facebook, Zalo, and radio and television broadcasts.

Many banners about the Thu Bon Goddess Festival are displayed by local authorities along National Highway 14H. Photo: TTT

Mr. Nguyen Cong Truong, Vice Chairman of the Duy Tan Commune People's Committee, said that in recent days, along with hanging banners, billboards, and pennants to promote the festival, the local authorities have also encouraged people to display the national flag during the festival. The commune has established an organizing committee with 19 members and 13 subcommittees to serve the event.

Diverse activities

According to Nguyen Cong Truong, Vice Chairman of the Duy Tan Commune People's Committee, this year the festival area is facing many difficulties due to the ongoing construction of the Song Thu bridge project, but the local authorities and people are still determined to organize the festival as meticulously and grandly as possible.

The ceremonies were performed by both localities in accordance with tradition. Photo: TTT

Besides the ceremonial part, which is conducted according to traditional rituals, the festival also includes many activities such as singing Bài Chòi (a traditional Vietnamese folk game), performing Tuồng (another traditional Vietnamese opera), boat racing, volleyball, traditional martial arts performances, and other folk games.

The traditional boat race was held as usual every year. Photo: TTT

"The local authorities organized a culinary skills competition with 7 women's associations from villages and schools participating, showcasing the wrapping and cooking of various types of cakes. The highlight was making gingerbread cakes right at the Lady's Mausoleum area to promote and introduce them to tourists," Mr. Truong said.

The festival's activities were widely publicized. Photo: TTT

Within the framework of this year's Thu Bon Festival, the locality organized many cultural and artistic activities such as the Cham culture art program, "Echoes of the Thu River," folk singing, boat racing, folk games, athletics, and chess. Notably, a new ritual, the sacred fire procession, was also included in the program to make the ceremony more solemn.

With thorough preparation from local authorities and the positive response from the people, we are confident that this year's Ba Thu Bon Festival will be a success, becoming an attractive cultural event that draws a large number of visitors from all over the country. This will contribute to the preservation and promotion of the unique values of the festival – a national intangible cultural heritage.

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