Forever imbued with the folk song

QTO - Busy with making a living and busy with family work, members of Le Thuy Ho Khoan clubs are still passionate and continue to pursue the work of preserving and promoting the heritage of their ancestors. Because for them, it is not simply a hobby, but also a responsibility to preserve the Ho Khoan heritage for all time. In that "community" of Ho Khoan lovers, the clubs share, support, and join hands, the leading clubs help the following clubs, and young clubs actively learn and share with long-standing clubs. Just like that, the source of Ho Khoan continues to be maintained, forever like the Kien Giang river that never runs dry...

In October 2025, the Ho Khoi Ngu Thuy Folk Song Club successfully organized a festival of Ho Khoan and Folk Dance Clubs right in the commune. Nguyen Thanh Thieu, Head of the Ho Khoi Ngu Thuy Folk Song Club, shared that right after the merger, understanding the psychology of some Ho Khoan Club members in the old Le Thuy district, who were quite concerned about maintaining the regular activities of the Club and not having many playgrounds to exchange and discuss, the Ho Khoi Ngu Thuy Folk Song Club decided to organize a small festival.

Shortly after the idea was born, the Club actively coordinated with 6 other Clubs to develop a plan to organize the festival, from preparation, logistics, venue to program script, performances, etc. The main source of funding was mobilized from each local Club. The Clubs responded and participated enthusiastically, considering the event not only as a simple playground, but also as a contribution to strengthening solidarity, cohesion, exchange and sharing between the Clubs.

The interesting point of this “homegrown” festival is the diversity of participating clubs. These are experienced clubs such as: Le Thuy folk song artist of Meritorious Artist Nguyen Thi Ly, Le Thuy folk song love song of Meritorious Artist Dang Thi Hong Hoi and young clubs from Cam Hong commune... This continuity is an important “connecting thread” for the source of folk song to continue to be passed on.

Le Thuy Folk Song Artists Club guides children to practice during summer vacation - Photo: MN

According to the Head of the Hong Thuy Ho Khoan Club (Cam Hong Commune) Nguyen Thi Thanh Men, the Club has been established for less than 2 years, so the opportunity to participate in festivals and major events is quite rare. Therefore, the Club members have actively practiced and prepared carefully, making efforts for the performance to participate in the festival. This is a "golden opportunity" for the Club to learn from experience and exchange practical experience with seniors of Ho Khoan Le Thuy. From the beginning of 2025 until now, this is the second time the Club has participated in playground events, the previous time was an exchange program organized by the Ho Khoan Le Thuy Artists Club.

"The club hopes to continue to be given the opportunity to participate in similar playgrounds in the future. In the near future, the club will change its name to match the administrative location after the merger and expand its scale, recruiting more members who are passionate about singing. In this journey, support from the local government is what the club really needs to continue its efforts to preserve the heritage," Ms. Men shared.

Artisan Nguyen Thanh Thieu added that the festival attracted more than 100 participants, becoming a festival for those who love Ho Khoan, especially in the coastal commune of Ngu Thuy. In 2024, the Club also successfully organized a similar festival. However, to maintain regular activities, it still needs more attention and facilitation from local authorities, relevant departments and branches, especially in the current post-merger period. In particular, to preserve the heritage, the Club is looking forward to being supported to upgrade musical instruments as well as having the opportunity to participate in training courses, improve performance skills, and pass on Ho Khoan to the younger generation.

Artists enthusiastically practice to prepare for a performance at a club exchange program - Photo: MN

These days, Meritorious Artist Nguyen Thi Ly is busy practicing with the Le Thuy Folk Songs Club to prepare for the Bai Choi singing festival in the Central region, which will be held in mid-November in Da Nang City. Although the weather has been unfavorable in the past few days, the Club's artists have still made an effort to practice to best prepare for the festival.

In addition to actively participating in major programs and events inside and outside the province (from the beginning of 2025 until now, the Club has performed in Bac Ninh and Quang Ninh provinces), the Le Thuy Ho Khoan Artisan Club is one of the clubs that actively and tirelessly preserves and promotes the value of Ho Khoan through practical and meaningful activities. The Club has also successfully organized an exchange program of folk culture clubs, gathering 14 clubs from Le Thuy district (old) and Vinh Linh commune, creating a playground connecting Le Thuy Ho Khoan, Quang Tri Rice Pounding Ho, Binh Tri Thien folk songs and other unique folk cultural and artistic forms.

Despite facing many difficulties and challenges, the folk songs and melodies have never stopped at the Le Thuy folk song clubs. Although knowing that there are still many difficulties in the journey of preservation, the artisans continue to put their trust and determination in protecting the heritage of their ancestors, so that the heritage will live forever in the community. Because the artisans know that in that journey, they are not alone...

In addition, according to Meritorious Artist Nguyen Thi Ly, the work of transmitting the value of the Ho Khoan heritage is considered by the Club as its "mission". The artists actively cooperate with high schools to establish the Le Thuy Ho Khoan Club, participating in teaching students, both at school and at the artists' homes, especially during the summer break. Particularly for the clubs of the next generation, the artists also regularly exchange, share, guide practice and refine each Ho verse and melody.

“The enthusiasm and passion are always maintained and continued by the artisans of the Club, however, the support and further attention of the authorities at all levels, relevant departments, branches and sectors are important conditions for the efforts to preserve heritage to be effectively promoted. Especially in the work of promoting, introducing heritage, training, fostering, supporting funding for organizing festival activities, exchanges, combining heritage and tourism development... That is the necessary support not only for the Le Thuy Ho Khoan Club but also for all other folk culture and art clubs”, said Meritorious Artist Nguyen Thi Ly.

Mai Nhan

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/van-hoa/202511/tham-mai-lan-dieu-ho-khoan-1625ed1/