The Ban Flower Festival 2019 in the northern mountainous province of Dien Bien will feature activities imbued with the cultural identities of the northwest region.

Scene taken from a Ban Flower Festival. (Photo: vietnamtourism.gov.vn)

The information was revealed at a meeting on October 15 in Dien Bien, which aimed to collect opinions on the event’s organisation from representatives of relevant departments, sectors, and agencies.

Vice Director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism Doan Van Chi announced that the event will take place from March 13-18, 2019.

The main activities will be held at several sites around Dien Bien Phu city, including the opening ceremony on March 16, an art performance, a low-range firework performance, a beauty contest, and a street carnival.

The festival will also feature entertainment activities imbued with the cultural identities of ethnic groups in Dien Bien in particular and the northwest region in general, such as a folk music and dance festival, a food festival, and an exhibition introducing tourism products and services in the locality.

Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Le Van Quy, who is also head of the festival organisation board, asked relevant departments, sectors, and localities to contribute to building the scenario, regulations, and agenda for the event.

The Ban Flower Festival is an annual cultural event of Dien Bien province, which began in 2014 on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Dien Bien Phu’s victory. The festival aims to preserve and promote the cultural values of Dien Bien’s ethnic groups and introduce and promote the image of Dien Bien province and the Ban tree, which is symbolic for the northwest region of Vietnam.

The festival is also hoped to contribute to upholding Dien Bien province’s cultural heritage and promoting tourism development in the locality.

March 13, 1954 was the opening day of the Dien Bien Phu Battle and the date was selected as the opening day of the annual Ban flower festival of Dien Bien. However, next year, March 13 is Monday and therefore the organising team plans to open the event one day earlier to make it more accessible for visitors./.

VNF/VNA