Street performances «Phố đi bộ ẩm thực đêm thành phố Hải Phòng»

   On Friday and Saturday nights, central Hai Phong hands its streets over to pedestrians: the roads around the Opera House (Nhà hát thành phố) close to traffic, and from 20:00 to 22:30 three stages run at once, on the square in front of the theater, on Quang Trung street and on Trần Hưng Đạo street. This is the arts side of the city's pilot «Phố đi bộ ẩm thực đêm thành phố Hải Phòng», the Hai Phong night food walking street, and only a few weekends are left: the arts program runs until 24 October.

   The stages stand right in the street, so you may hear a tune over dinner or stumble upon an act on your stroll. Each stage has its own character. The square in front of the theater belongs to the city's professional companies, with song and dance, chèo (traditional Vietnamese folk opera), puppetry and programs celebrating Hai Phong's history and culture; in September, the Hai Phong Contemporary Arts Theater (Nhà hát Nghệ thuật đương đại Hải Phòng) joined street performers for a music night on the walking street. On Trần Hưng Đạo, the city's Youth Union (Thành đoàn Hải Phòng) brings youth music and street art from clubs and bands, mixing modern sounds with traditional instruments. Quang Trung is given over to arts clubs and schools: singing, instruments, dance and ballroom dancing, with students and young artists stepping in front of a live audience.

   The pilot's plan lists named programs, for example:
— youth music: «Giai điệu kết nối» (Melodies That Connect), «Thanh âm tuổi trẻ» (Sounds of Youth)
— tradition: «Mạch nguồn truyền thống» (Roots of Tradition), «Lời cổ vang xa» (Old Songs Carry Far), «Về miền di sản» (To the Land of Heritage)
— the city and the sea: «Thanh âm Hải Phòng» (Sounds of Hai Phong), «Vũ khúc nơi đầu sóng» (Dance on the Crest of the Waves), «Sóng hát» (Singing Waves)

   Between the acts there is plenty to join in: magicians and clowns, tò he (figurines molded from colored rice dough), mini-games, balloon art and «Ghép đôi đường phố» (street matchmaking), a dating game the youth group Eclipse runs every weekend on Trần Hưng Đạo. The open stage «Du ca phố này» brings audience and performers into one rhythm, and mascots of local dishes such as bánh đa cua crab noodle soup, nem cua bể crab rolls and bánh mì cay mini baguettes have turned up by the fountain.

   It is meant for everyone at once: families with children, young people, tourists and Hai Phong's large foreign community; the city's Department of Foreign Affairs was tasked with spreading the word to international organizations and foreign business associations. According to the city's Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, more than 16,000 people came to the opening night.

   The Hai Phong Opera House was built between 1898 and 1900, modeled on the Paris opera house; under French rule, only three Vietnamese cities were chosen for a grand theater: Hanoi, Hai Phong and Saigon. Today the square in front of it and the central flower garden strip (dải vườn hoa trung tâm) form the main stage of the pilot, part of the city's push to become a «Thành phố Âm nhạc» (City of Music).

   Next to the stages are about 30 stalls with Hai Phong food, local specialties and OCOP products; a digital food map is built into the city's Smart Hải Phòng app and ShopeeFood, you can pay by QR code, and there is free Wi-Fi. From 18:00 to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays, traffic is banned on sections of Quang Trung, Hoàng Văn Thụ, Đinh Tiên Hoàng and Trần Hưng Đạo streets, on the theater square, around the fountain and in the Lê Chân and Nguyễn Văn Trỗi gardens, so park early.

   If you are in Hai Phong for the weekend, head to the Opera House after dark: grab dinner at the stalls and wander from stage to stage while the city sings in the street.