All aboard: A long-boat race in Soc Trang. — VNS Photo Le Hoang Vu

TRA VINH (VNS)— The Mekong Delta provinces of Tra Vinh and Soc Trang are celebrating the ethnic Khmer community's Ok Om Bok Festival with a range of cultural activities.

A seminar on "Southern Khmer People's Du Ke Theatre - An Ethnic Cultural Heritage" was held at Tra Vinh University yesterday to highlight the origin and development history of the art, and seek measures to preserve it.

A trade-tourism fair to promote rice and other products in the region has also opened at the Tra Vinh Convention Centre.

Eight teams from districts in Tra Vinh will compete in a boat race that will be organised on the Long Binh River on Saturday.

The festival will also be celebrated in Soc Trang from Thurday to Sunday. Events include a long-boat race with the participatiion of around 50 teams from provinces and cities in the Mekong delta region.

Ok Om Bok, also called the Festival of Worshipping the Moon, is one of the three main festivals that the Khmer celebrate every year.

It takes place on the 15th day of the Cadac month in the Buddhist calendar - the 15th day of the 10th lunar month - when it changes from the rainy season to the dry season, and the growing season to the harvest season.—VNS