Vietnamese Tet in Lorient city attracts more than 1,000 French people to participate

Tết Việt ở thành phố Lorient thu hút hơn 1.000 người Pháp tham gia - 1 — Mr. Fabrice Loher, mayor of Lorient city (in black), took a photo with the program's organizers and guests.

This is the first time that the people of Lorient and the Morbihan region have participated in a major event imbued with Vietnamese culture. The event was organized by the Vietnam Bretagne Sud Association, in collaboration with the Lorient City Council and the Art Space Association. The art program was staged by artist and musician Hoang Thu Trang, a Vietnamese expatriate in France.

The event was attended by Mr. Fabrice Loher, Mayor of Lorient; Ms. Morgan Christien, Deputy Mayor in charge of Education and Social Security of Lorient; Mr. Alain Le Brusq, Deputy Mayor in charge of Commerce and Economy of Lorient; Mr. Laurent Duval, Mayor of Languidic; Mr. Patrice Valton, Mayor of Larmor-Plage; Ms. Réjine Le Normand, Deputy Mayor of Larmor-Plage; Ms. Pascale Douniou, Deputy Mayor of Quimperlé.

More than 1,000 French people participated in exploring Vietnamese folk games, calligraphy and cuisine on the traditional Vietnamese New Year.

Tết Việt ở thành phố Lorient thu hút hơn 1.000 người Pháp tham gia - 2 — French-Vietnamese choir performs the song Trong Com.

This is the first time an event related to Vietnamese culture has been held on a large scale in the city of Lorient, including activities throughout half a day to help people understand more about a colorful Vietnam with a rich cultural and historical tradition. From booths exploring the art of calligraphy, folk games to special Tet dishes to promote Vietnamese cuisine and a lion dance troupe of 8 lions, all were meticulously and enthusiastically introduced to the French public attending the event.

Promoting Vietnamese culture through special art programs

The highlight of the event was an art program with 15 special performances to promote Vietnamese music and art to the French public. The program gathered nearly 100 volunteers and amateur artists from many French cities such as Paris, Nantes, Rennes, Laval, Toulouse, Lorient... to attend.

The selected performances were all elaborately staged, colorful and clearly demonstrated the intersection between traditional art and modern breath, from the Vietnamese Soul Lotus dance, the Floating Water Fern dance to songs imbued with the spring atmosphere such as Doan Xuan Ca, Tet Den That Roi, Vui Nhu Tet... In particular, the Ao Dai collection by Belgian-Vietnamese designer Ella Phan was also performed on stage by French girls and overseas Vietnamese.

Tết Việt ở thành phố Lorient thu hút hơn 1.000 người Pháp tham gia - 3 — French children in Vietnamese ao dai.

Vietnamese culture is preserved and continued through many generations of Vietnamese people in France.

The Thang Long Tet art program brings many unique and unforgettable experiences to the French people in the city of Lorient in particular and in the Morbihan region in general. One of the most special highlights is the appearance of the Choir consisting of 50 French and Vietnamese members in France of all ages, from students to French people who are working or retired but carry in their hearts and love for Vietnam.

Practicing for 2 months until the performance day, the French-Vietnamese choir mastered the song Trong Com in Vietnamese in front of nearly 1,000 spectators at the event. Kevin Nguyen, one of the young French-Vietnamese saxophonists, joined the choir in performing a saxophone solo on the song Trong Com, surprising and delighting the audience.

Tết Việt ở thành phố Lorient thu hút hơn 1.000 người Pháp tham gia - 4 — The dance Building a house on the field is performed by French and Vietnamese children born in France.

In addition, the choir also performed the French song "Le monde nous appartiendra" (Temporary translation: "The world in our hands"), with some lyrics translated into Vietnamese by musician Hoang Thu Trang, bringing surprise and excitement to everyone in the audience.

Ms. Dalilah Flécher, a French woman living in Lorient, a choir member, shared: "I have not missed any practice sessions in the past 2 months. I even listened to and practiced the song Trong Com many times at home to pronounce it better. I love Vietnamese culture very much and I have many Vietnamese friends. For me, singing in Vietnamese at a big event like the Thang Long Tet event is a wonderful experience. I went on stage wearing a Vietnamese ao dai that I cut and sewed myself."

Tết Việt ở thành phố Lorient thu hút hơn 1.000 người Pháp tham gia - 5 — Kevin Nguyen, one of the youngest French-Vietnamese saxophonists, performed with the choir.

Another performance that left an impression on the audience was the performance of the Mam Tre ethnic orchestra from the city of Rennes with nearly 20 members, both Vietnamese and French, including many children who are second-generation Vietnamese born and raised in France. The ethnic orchestra also had the participation of French friends in positions such as playing bamboo flutes or playing traditional drums. Vietnamese culture must truly move and touch the hearts of French friends before they are willing to learn to speak Vietnamese, sing in Vietnamese, wear the Vietnamese ao dai and even play a Vietnamese folk instrument - things that are not easy.

Ms. Mai Palier, member of the Organizing Committee, Vice President of the Vietnam Bretagne Sud Association, shared: "Tet Thang Long is not only an opportunity for overseas Vietnamese in France to return to their roots, share their nostalgia for their homeland and affirm national solidarity. This is also an opportunity for us to proudly introduce the unique features of Vietnamese culture to the French public, as well as to connect and exchange between generations of Vietnamese people and international friends.

Many French audiences have told us about their desire to travel to Vietnam and explore the cuisine, music, and traditional customs that they have experienced after participating in our Thang Long Tet program."