Some of the country's diverse ethnic cultures will be on show at a festival held on April 18-19 in suburban Hanoi .

The Vietnam Ethnic Groups Cultural Festival features the participationof 13 ethnic groups from eight cities and provinces. Taking place at theVietnamese Ethnic Groups Culture and Tourism Village in Dong Mo touristarea, 40km from the city centre, the festival's highlights include agala night with the theme of "Opportunities in the Year of the Dragon",featuring art performances by more than 300 artists.

Theartistic director of the show, Nguyen Khac Phuc, said the performancewill spotlight the cultural quintessence of ethnic groups throughout thecountry.

"The stage will be arranged with symbolsrepresenting the diversified culture and solidarity of 54 groups inVietnam ," he said.

The gala night will be broadcast live by Radio the Voice of Vietnam (VOV) and Vietnam Television (VTV) on April 19.

A preliminary conference to review the three years of implementing thePrime Minister's Decision on "Vietnam Ethnic Group Cultural Day" (April19) will be held during the festival along with a conference onpromoting tourism, a market fair with produce from mountainous regions,traditional craft village exhibition and traditional games, sports andentertainment.

The festival aims to help preserve ethnicculture and popularise products and services to tourists, honour thecultures of Vietnamese ethnic groups and boost cultural exchanges andnational unity among ethnic minorities in Vietnam.-VNA