The 2nd Hai Phong Puppetry Festival takes place from May 7 to May 11.

On the afternoon of May 7, at the square of Hai Phong City Theater, the parade and opening ceremony of the 2nd Hai Phong Puppetry Festival 2024 took place.

This is an event to preserve and promote the unique cultural and artistic values ​​of traditional puppetry of the Vietnamese people, responding to the Red Flamboyant Festival - Hai Phong 2024 with the theme " Hai Phong - Illuminating the heritage land ".

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy, Head of Hai Phong Puppetry Art Troupe, delivered the opening speech of the Festival. Photo: Thanh Son

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the festival, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy, Head of the Hai Phong Puppetry Art Troupe, said: “The 2nd Hai Phong Puppetry Festival in 2024 is a cultural festival with many unique activities and performances taking place in the city. The festival is also a place to connect the quintessence and national cultural identities representing regions across the country to converge and shine on the land of Hai Phong, a thousand-year-old land of culture.”

Through the 2nd Hai Phong Puppetry Festival, Hai Phong hopes to turn this event into a large-scale cultural and tourism activity, aiming to build Hai Phong's cultural and tourism products and brands on the basis of the nation's cultural and artistic values. Promote exchange activities, create opportunities to connect cultural heritage with localities across the country, strengthen the spirit of solidarity, cohesion, cooperation and development.

With the goal of preserving and promoting cultural identity, building Hai Phong people to develop comprehensively, meeting the requirements of sustainable development of the city and the country. Prioritize the preservation and effective promotion of the values ​​of cultural heritages, linking preservation with tourism development. Hai Phong has a diverse, rich and unique system of cultural and artistic heritages. Folk performing forms have their own unique characteristics, typically the Do Son Buffalo Fighting Festival, Thuy Nguyen Dum Singing, Xam Singing, Ca Tru and especially the traditional art of Water Puppetry...

Performances at the opening ceremony of the Festival. Photo: Thanh Son

Ms. Tran Thi Hoang Mai, Director of the Department of Culture and Sports of Hai Phong, said that the work of building and developing literature and art in Hai Phong city has always received special attention. The types of tangible and intangible cultural heritages have been promoted in value and invested in , preserved and spread strongly. In order for literature and art to have vitality and flourishing development, Hai Phong has persisted with many policies, plans as well as practical action programs, paying attention to comprehensive and right-directed investment. In particular, Hai Phong has early policies to treat artisans and artists - they are "living treasures" who are practicing and passing on the heritages that their ancestors have worked hard to create every day, in order to preserve and promote the value of literature and art in contemporary society, serving the goals of socio -economic development and tourism development.

City leaders presented flowers to units participating in the parade. Photo: Thanh Son

The festival took place from May 7 to May 11 at the City Theater Square and Hang Kenh communal house with the participation of leading puppet theaters in Vietnam such as: Vietnam Puppetry Theater, Thang Long Puppetry Theater (Hanoi); Sen Viet Art Troupe; Puppetry Troupe of Ninh Binh Provincial Art Theater; Quang Ninh Puppetry Theater; host team Hai Phong Puppetry Art Troupe; with the presence of ancient puppet troupes such as: Nhan Hoa, Dong Minh (Vinh Bao district), Dao Thuc (Dong Anh, Hanoi), Luy Lau (Bac Ninh), Phu Tho... with many genres: water puppets, string puppets, stick puppets, mask puppets, disguise puppets, foot puppets, belly puppets...

After the opening ceremony of the Festival, art troupes demonstrated their talents through puppetry performances such as: Pretty Bamboo Tree, Red Ban Flower, Swan Lake, folk dance "Beautiful Vietnam", Spring Festival, Flamenco, Jumping to the Market, and The Little Girl of the Upper Realm.

The parades through the streets. Photo: Thanh Son

Before the opening ceremony, 12 Theaters, Art Troupes, and Puppetry Troupes participating in the Festival, with their own costumes and props, paraded through several streets in the city center.

Thanh Son

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