HCM CITY (VNS) — HCM City's streets and parks will come alive with festivals, giving residents and visitors a variety of ways to celebrate the New Year.

The two biggest festivals, one located in District 11's Dam Sen Park and the other in District 7's Crescent Lake, will feature fireworks, concerts, circus and puppet shows and art exhibitions. More than 50,000 visitors are expected to attend.

As in previous years, colourful lights fill major streets such as Ham Nghi, Le Loi, Dong Khoi, Le Duan and Pham Ngoc Thach in District 1 and 3. These streets draw many people every night, including children excited to see the hundreds of puppet and circus performances held at 8pm from December 24 to New Year's Eve.

The Youth Cultural House on Pham Ngoc Thach Street began its week of musical and dance performances, fashion shows and cultural exhibits on Wednesday.

The two-day "Happy New Year 2015" event at 23-9 Park this weekend will begin the festivities, attracting thousands of children and their parents. Organised by the city's Culture, Sports and Tourism department and its partner, the event includes dozens of traditional art shows and games featuring the culture and lifestyle of the north, central and south regions.

Suoi Tien, Van Thanh and Binh Quoi parks are preparing for their busy season, during which they often overflow with children from the city and southern provinces.

The centres invested a lot to offer new games, museums and shows. District 9's Suoi Tien Tourist Park built new entertainment facilities to serve its visitors during the holiday, including a large park with 25,000 crocodiles and hundreds of wild animals.

"We built a 1,000sq.m open-air museum which displays information, pictures, photographs and objects related to Vietnamese and foreign fairy tales," said the park's sales and marketing manager Nguyen Nhu Mai.

Meanwhile rival Van Thanh Tourist Park in Binh Thanh District will hold its first-ever cultural festival, Hat Lua Que Toi (My Country's Rice). The event's highlights include a festival of a hundred Vietnamese sweet dishes prepared by culinary specialists from hotels and tourist services centres around the city.

Dam Sen Park's ice sculpture show provides cool relief from the city's hot weather.

Kept at -150C, the sculptures depict architectural wonders such as India's Taj Mahal, China's Great Wall and the Tower Bridge in London.

The park will also display hundreds of flowerpots and bonsais designed by growers in the mountainous cities of Da Lat and Buon Ma Thuot. There will be musical performances and traditional dragon dances on New Year's Eve. — VNS