Traditional arts show «Biểu diễn Nghệ thuật Định kỳ» at Bến Ninh Kiều

   On Saturday evenings, Ninh Kieu Wharf (Bến Ninh Kiều), one of the symbols of Can Tho (Cần Thơ), turns into an open-air stage: the city's Culture and Arts Center brings the traditional arts of southern Vietnam to the riverside, from đờn ca tài tử music and cải lương scenes to folk songs and Khmer dance. If you are in Can Tho for the weekend, this is a good way to spend Saturday night by the water.

   The series, billed in English on the stage backdrop as the «Regular Arts Performance Program», was launched by the Can Tho City Culture and Arts Center (Trung tâm Văn hóa, Nghệ thuật TP Cần Thơ) on 29 August 2026 with an evening of đờn ca tài tử and excerpts of cải lương, performed by the center's artists and đờn ca tài tử masters. Its aim, in the center's own words, is to introduce locals and visitors to the folk and traditional arts of Nam Bộ, the country's south, and of Can Tho itself. The program alternates week by week:
— đờn ca tài tử and cải lương scenes
— a mixed bill of southern folk songs, Khmer dance and music, and numbers about life on the river

   What has already been on stage, according to the center and the newspaper Báo Cần Thơ:
— the Khmer Rô băm dance «Nhịp cầu tình yêu» and ngũ âm music by the Đoàn Nghệ thuật Khmer troupe
— a folk song-and-dance piece based on the Tống phong ritual, steeped in the river culture of Can Tho
— a medley of lý tunes and southern folk songs, «Cần Thơ khúc hát dựng xây»
— a children's medley of lý songs about traditional cakes, bánh dân gian

   The center runs the evenings together with the Khmer troupe, its own clubs and independent arts groups. Đờn ca tài tử, the chamber music of the south that took shape in the late 19th century, was inscribed by UNESCO on the list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2013, and cải lương, the southern musical theater, grew out of it and the folk songs of the Mekong Delta. After the first two evenings, Báo Cần Thơ reported that the shows were drawing large crowds of both residents and tourists.

   It is an evening for anyone who happens to be by the river on a Saturday: travelers who want to hear the music of the Mekong Delta live, families (children are sometimes among the performers), and anyone curious about the Khmer culture of the south.

   The wharf itself dates back to the 19th century. It sits on the right bank of the Hậu River (sông Hậu), where the Cần Thơ River meets it, and has long since been turned into a park. One legend has it that Nguyen Anh (Nguyễn Ánh), the future Emperor Gia Long, arrived here by boat one night, heard poetry, singing, strings and flutes drifting from the shore, and named the river Cầm Thi giang, the «river of zither and verse». Music by this water, in other words, is nothing new.

   Shows start at 19:00 every Saturday; under the plan of the city's Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Sở Văn hóa, Thể thao và Du lịch), the evenings continue until the end of the year. The stage is in the open air, in the park on the wharf.

   Head down to the Hậu River by seven and let đờn ca tài tử close out your Saturday in Can Tho.