HA NOI (VNS)  — This year's Vietnamese Family Day (June 28) will take the theme "Family Meal with Love and Compassion", Huynh Vinh Ai, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said at a press conference yesterday.

He said the ministry is encouraging all households in the country to organise a family meal on the afternoon of June 28.

Twenty families representing the coast guard and fisheries surveillance forces will be invited to attend various cultural activities for the Family Day celebration in Ha Noi. They will also meet with host families at the ministry headquarters on June 23, he said.

The Viet Nam Culture and Arts Exhibition Centre will host several events from June 26-28, including a photo exhibition titled "Four Seasons of Love" featuring 100 moments of reunion from different parts of the country.

Nearly 150 families from various ethnic groups in Ha Noi will be feted at a conference organised at the centre.

A workshop on community healthcare models, another on enhancing men's role in family life, quiz shows for family members and children, as well as a doubles table tennis tournament (to encourage team work between family members) will also be held.

On the afternoon of June 28, participating families will sign on a huge map made of dozens of family photos, aiming to set a national record.

The Viet Nam National Village for Ethnic Culture and Tourism in Dong Mo, 40km to the west of Ha Noi, will host a series of events under the themes of "Great Family of Vietnamese Ethnic Groups" and the "Fatherland's Sacred Sovereignty" on June 28 and 29.

"The events will attract more than 200 people from 32 ethnic groups from eight cities and provinces as well as around 500 representatives from Viet Nam People's Army and 300 Youth Union members from the Ministry of Culture," said Lam Van Khang, deputy head of the village's management board.

Three traditional worship ceremonies will be held at the village, including the Po Riyak Sea God Worshipping Ceremony of Cham ethnic group in Ninh Thuan Province.

The "Le Khao Le The Linh Hoang Sa" (Feast and Commemoration Festival for Hoang Sa Soldiers), will be organised by fishermen from Ly Son Island, Quang Ngai Province, in tribute to the men enlisting for the flotilla patrolling the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos to tap natural resources and defend the nation's sovereignty.

An exhibition displaying different materials including paintings and photographs of Viet Nam's seas and islands will be organised at the village together with documentary screenings on the same theme.

The Family Day has been organised every year since 2001. — VNS