Getting ready: Tai tu artists seen during a perfomance. The national Tai Tu Music Festival will be oganised for the first time in Bac Lieu City today. — VNS Photo Van Dat

BAC LIEU (VNS) — Cultural activities to welcome local and international visitors in Bac Lieu Province began yesterday in preparation for the first National Tai Tu Music Festival's opening ceremony tonight at Cultural Square in Bac Lieu City.

Early yesterday morning, farmers and artisans from Bac Lieu and eight provinces in the Mekong Delta showed their best ornamental plants in an exhibition in Nguyen Tat Thanh Street in Bac Lieu.

The exhibition was the first of 21 cultural activities planned for the six-day festival.

The display featured more than 1,000 ornamental plants in 20 booths on an area of more than 3,000sq m in Bac Lieu City. Participants also introduced technology used for development and growth of ornamental plants.

Organised for the first time in Bac Lieu Province, the exhibition aims to promote a green environment, create job opportunities and contribute to economic development in Bac Lieu and other provinces in the Mekong Delta.

Artisans from neighbouring provinces taking part in the exhibit showed the public how to grow such plants.

On the same day, a showcase of products and foods that are the specialties of these provinces in the south opened for visitors at the Bac Lieu Province Exhibition Centre.

At least 150 companies and organisations introduced products at more than 300 booths. Organisers arranged 28 booths featuring achievements in social development, culture and the economy.

Forty-two other booths showcased tourism products of 21 provinces and cities in the Southern region, where tai tu music is played among amateur local residents.

One of the interesting activities for visitors, especially those who live outside Bac Lieu, is the Food Festival, which includes special dishes of the locality. It aims to honour the culinary culture of Bac Lieu and the South.

The festival, which features 74 booths from cooks and restaurants, has opened for visitors at the Ho Nam Ecotourism Resort and on a site on April 30 Street.

Also last night, a concert introducing songs by composer Trong Nguyen and Yen Lan was organised at the Bac Lieu Sport Complex. The programme was broadcast live on television.

As part of the festival, a caravan of antique cars began its trip yesterday in HCM City. Before reaching Bac Lieu, 19 old cars made from 1920 to 1930 will stop in Long An and Can Tho for a photoshoot.

Troupes from 21 provinces that perform tai tu music (which has been recognised by UNESCO as a World Intangible Cultural Heritage) played yesterday afternoon in 21 conical-shaped booths along Ho Nam (South Lake).

During upcoming days, a party with Vietnamese traditional musical instruments will feature songs about the beauty of Viet Nam and the late president Ho Chi Minh.

The troups will also take part in a friendly competition during this event. — VNS