The 2026 Sen Village Festival opened in Kim Lien commune, the central province of Nghe An, on May 18 evening, marking the 136th birth anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh (May 19).

Deputy Prime Minister Le Tien Chau and Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Lam Thi Phuong Thanh hand over the decision recognising Kim Lien as a national tourism area.

At the event, President of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics Doan Minh Huan, on behalf of the Party and State leaders, presented the first-class Labour Order to the Board of Directors of the Kim Lien special national relic site.

Deputy Prime Minister Le Tien Chau and Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Lam Thi Phuong Thanh handed over the decision recognising Kim Lien as a national tourism area, an important milestone that affirms its value and propels a new phase of cultural and tourism development in the late President’s homeland.

In his opening speech, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Thai Van Thanh noted that over 45 years, the event evolved from “Songs from Sen Village” and the “Sen Village Singing Festival” into the Sen Village Festival in 2002. Since then, it has been staged annually at the provincial level and every five years on a national scale.

He called the festival a key occasion to commemorate President Ho Chi Minh’s birth, expressing profound respect and gratitude from all walks of life for the late leader, a national liberation hero, a great man of culture and a shining symbol in the golden pages of Vietnamese history, culture and the Communist Party of Vietnam.

The event also gives domestic and foreign visitors deeper exposure to the people and culture of Nghe An, one of Vietnam’s most distinctive cultural areas, known for its Vi and Giam folk singing recognised by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

An art performance at the opening ceremony.

Running from May 18-30, the 2026 Sen Village Festival packs in a wide slate of activities, including flower and incense offerings, tributes at the Ho Chi Minh Memorial House, a procession of his portrait, thematic exhibitions marking the 115th anniversary of his departure to seek a path to national salvation and the 80th anniversary of his appeal for national resistance, a “Rural Market” cultural space with experiential tourism, the virtual reality feature “Returning to the Sacred Moment,” and traditional folk games.

The opening ceremony’s centrepiece was a large-scale semi-reality art show co-hosted by the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Culture and Sports, and the Ho Chi Minh City Drama Theater.

The three-part show retraced President Ho Chi Minh’s journey from his native Sen village to his aspiration for national independence, while conveying the spirit of national unity and Vietnam’s development aspirations in a new era.

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