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Performances and events

We are all about helping you make the most of your trekking and culture tour here in Northern Vietnam. To help you I have listed a few events and shows that are free to come and see. They are part of our culture and we love to share. Of course singing and dancing are the most popular to see, but there are also seasonal events to come and see.

Dancing

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The Black Hmong dance in Cat Cat, Sapa. This is the most regular and easy to see of all the dances.

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This is the saturday evening dance at Bao Lac, Cao Bang in the town square. A great extra for any trip.

There are professional troops of traditional singers and dancers that perform in the North. Depending on your budget, you can hire them too and they will come perform for you at your homestay. Alternatively they are perform free to see at the following locations:

• Bao Lac, Cao Bang - Saturday evenings during tourist season. Checking in advance though is essential for this one as is not a fully established timetable yet.

• Dong Van, Hi Giang - Saturday & sunday evenings performances at the Love Market in the town square. Depending on who is dancing there may be the fire dance.

• Cat Cat - Every day during tourist season, singing and dancing from the Black Hmong. Performances are in the day time on the hour every hour for around 15 minutes (excluding lunch).

Luna festivals

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Held once a year we have a Dao festival in Ta Van where everyone from all different tribes get dressed up to come.

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Its a great day out for the whole family. There is food and traditional games going on to entertain everyone.

To keep the ethnic culture alive and celebrate our identity we have special events though out the year. Everyone gets dressed up for the occasion in their traditional clothing. Many villages in the Muong Hoa Valley now have their own luna new year festival, though not all on the same day. They are usually hosted by the dominant tribe of the village. These events usually start early too!

There are many things to do and see here for guests. As well as tasting foods from the many different ethnic cultures here there are also games to take part in such as:

• Crossbow - formerly used for hunting, now used in shooting competitions.

• Spin-Top - Played on a large field, players must fling their tops as the opposing teams using a thread and 60cm stick to earn points. There are eight sets to a game.

• Bamboo pole climb - For children mostly, one must climb the bamboo pole and reach the top to claim either a small cash prize or a bag of sweets. Harder than it looks!

Other events

There is the annual horse racing festival weekend in June for Bac Ha. This is really really popular so booking must be made many months in advance. This sells out every year.

There is much to see in Ninh Binh in the lunar new year with many festivals and parades from various temples in the town and along the river.