Festival «Văn hóa dân tộc Mông lần thứ IV» (Mông Ethnic Culture Festival)

   For three days in October the northwest highlands turn into one large stage: groups from eleven provinces gather in Điện Biên to show how the Mông community lives, works and performs. Khèn pipe music, craft rows, costume shows, folk sports and a street carnival all sit inside one programme.

   Delegations arrive from eleven provinces with large Mông populations: Điện Biên, Tuyên Quang, Phú Thọ, Thái Nguyên, Sơn La, Cao Bằng, Lai Châu, Lào Cai, Thanh Hóa, Nghệ An and Đắk Lắk. The festival is run by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Bộ Văn hóa, Thể thao và Du lịch) together with the Điện Biên provincial authorities.

   The programme in brief, as announced by the organisers:

• — the opening ceremony and the launch of all festival venues
• — khèn Mông reed-pipe performances
• — a traditional costume show and craft demonstrations
• — a festival of amateur art groups from the visiting provinces
• — the themed exhibition «Đặc trưng văn hóa dân tộc Mông trong cộng đồng văn hóa các dân tộc Việt Nam», on the place of Mông culture among the cultures of Việt Nam
• — visits to Làng du lịch văn hóa dân tộc Mông, the Mông cultural tourism village
• — a street carnival

   A large slice of the schedule goes to traditional sports: đánh tù lu (top spinning), ném pa pao (cloth-ball throwing), đẩy gậy (stick pushing), bắn nỏ (crossbow shooting) and đánh yến (a shuttlecock game). The Việt Nam Sports Administration (Cục Thể dục thể thao Việt Nam) has promised technical support for these events.

   If you want culture you can walk into rather than read about, these are the densest three days of the year in Điện Biên: hear the khèn, watch hemp weaving and blacksmithing, follow the carnival, take a seat at the games. Families with children usually do best starting at the sports ground, where nothing needs translating.

   The Mông are one of the larger ethnic minority communities in Việt Nam, living mainly in the northern mountain provinces, in western Thanh Hóa and Nghệ An and in several Central Highlands provinces. The ministry lists khèn art, hemp weaving, blacksmithing, costume, festivals, the chợ phiên periodic markets and a distinctive style of house among the community's heritage.

   Hosting the festival is "an honour and a responsibility", said Nguyễn Minh Phú, vice-chairman of the Điện Biên People's Committee, linking it to promoting the province's landscape, culture and tourism. Deputy Minister Trịnh Thị Thủy asked the organisers to keep the opening, the closing and the street festival distinct from one another and true to Mông identity.

   One caveat before you plan: the exact venue inside the province has not been announced, the dates in the official notice are still marked as expected rather than fixed, and nothing has been said about admission, so it is worth checking again closer to October. Keep all three days free once you are there, because the programme does not fit into one.