March, the month of festivals.

Vibrant colors

According to the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Dak Lak province, March 2025 will be a special period for local festivals, connecting along the main axis of events, from the 50th anniversary of the Victory of Buon Ma Thuot to the 9th Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Festival.

It is planned that 34 unique cultural tours will take place throughout the province, most of which are programs developed by local establishments and linked to the indigenous traditional culture of the ethnic groups in the Central Highlands.

For example, activities such as rafting across rapids and "conquering" the Serepok River; dugout canoe racing on Lak Lake; attending festivals and watching elephants with M'nong elephant handlers; and exploring Buon Don - a land of legends…

The festival not only contributes to preserving and honoring traditional cultural identity but also serves as an attractive tourism product, drawing visitors in. Photo: Hoang Gia

Mr. Lai Duc Dai, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, shared that the events and activities organized are based on the actual spring festivals of the indigenous ethnic groups. In the history of the Central Highlands' development, March has always been a time with strong cultural influences, when the mountains and forests truly enter spring, and the villages begin a new production season. The festivals are organized with the hope for a better new year, favorable weather, abundant harvests, and greater wealth. The Buon Don Elephant Festival will select the strongest elephants and find the most skilled and courageous elephant handlers. The Lak Lake Boat Race will evoke the majestic image of the young men of the red soil, standing proudly amidst the sky and earth… Recreating these activities also demonstrates the strength of unity and the efforts of the community, working together to build a prosperous and beautiful homeland, with increasingly glorious characteristics…

In particular, 2025 marks further efforts by the local culture and tourism sector to encourage travel agencies to design themed tours focusing on coffee, offering unique experiences for tourists from near and far about this characteristic agricultural product of the Central Highlands. These tours will include experiences exploring coffee culture, learning about the processes of growing and processing coffee and cocoa, from rudimentary to modern methods. Accompanying these tours will be cultural activities with the local people, such as tending coffee plants, harvesting flowers, and singing songs celebrating life together.

The bustling March festival. Photo: Hoang Gia - Huu Hung

Developing cultural plans

Mr. Tran Hong Tien, Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Dak Lak, acknowledged that the spring festival activities in March are therefore always a precious gift that local people want to share and introduce to visitors. In recent years, festivals recreating traditional customs and practices, especially traditional cultural festivals of ethnic groups, have always been regularly maintained with that spirit.

The limitations of these festivals are that they are often small in scale, mainly organized at the grassroots level, and sometimes even spontaneous. Therefore, most festivals have limited reach, lack professional organization, and have not truly enhanced their status and value, especially in terms of profound cultural content. They have not truly become representative cultural products or distinctive tourism products that adequately honor spiritual and cultural values.

An ancient dance performed during the New Rice Festival of the Thai ethnic group in Ea Kuêh commune, Cư M'gar district. Photo: Hoàng Gia.

“We believe that, in order to develop the current cultural tourism orientation, and to increase the attractiveness and effectiveness of festivals, there needs to be coordinated guidance and involvement from all levels of Party committees and government. The culture and tourism sector recognizes that festivals are both activities that contribute to preserving and honoring traditional cultural identity, and must also be attractive tourism products that draw visitors,” Mr. Tran Hong Tien shared. From this perspective, Mr. Tien said that he is working with cultural and tourism management levels to research, develop, and immediately apply solutions and plans to further elevate festivals. The culture sector will focus on strengthening communication, sharing information, organizing large-scale social mobilization in a more professional manner, and striving to organize festival activities regularly and periodically. Each locality should base its selection on its strengths to choose the most distinctive festivals, and focus investment and organization with the orientation of "each locality having a tourism product associated with a local traditional cultural festival".

Mr. Tran Hong Tien analyzed: The inherent advantage of Dak Lak and the Central Highlands is a centuries-old culture, hidden within its past development and evident in every forest and kitchen corner. The people of the Central Highlands are proud, courageous, and natural; there is no reason why they shouldn't boldly introduce themselves, step out into the world, and shine a light on their humanistic and indigenous cultural values. Developing cultural plans and annual linked festival activities, connecting distinctive traditional values ​​with aspects of life, and incorporating subtle and reasonable elements from modern civilization, will create unique and attractive tourism products linked to the local culture…

Source: https://baodaknong.vn/thang-ba-mua-le-hoi-244384.html