A new Tet (Lunar New Year) Festival 2020 will be organised in HCM City from January 3 to January 5 next year to honor Viet Nam’s cultural and culinary values.

The Vietnam Culinary Culture Association, in coordination with the HCM City Department of Tourism, is organising the festival, which is scheduled to take place at Le Van Tam Park with five major activities: Tet rituals, food, games and performances, and a Tet market.

The festival will be targeted to younger generations and will be about customs, stories and myths related to Tet.

Le Tan, vice president and general secretary of the association, and general director of Tet Festival, said the event would help stimulate young generations’ love for culture and national pride.

“If young people and foreigners are able to experience, understand and love Viet Nam's traditional activities, then we will have done our job well!” said Le Tan.

Stories about Tet will be dramatised and displayed in objects for spectators to enjoy. Vietnamese culinary arts will be combined with Tet folk games to help children and tourists understand the Vietnamese Tet.

Nguyen Quoc Ky, chairman of the Vietnam Culinary Culture Association, and co-organiser of Tet Festival 2020, said the festival was a good starting point for future programmes to promote Vietnamese culture and cuisine.

The festival also aims to help HCM City in particular and Viet Nam in general attract more international tourists through cultural and culinary experiences in festive activities.

The festival will be free of charge to the public. It is expected to attract more than 40,000 visitors during its three days.

The HCM City Department of Tourism said it would be held yearly on the weekend of the first week of the twelfth lunar month to enable families and tourists to experience the Tet Holiday, have fun, and go shopping before the official holiday period takes place.

Hoang Vu, director of the Department of Tourism, said the city would organise a series of lother international festivals to promote Vietnamese cultural values. — VNS