Gia Lai hosts 4th Ethnic Cultural Festival

On the evening of April 12, the Central Highlands Province of Gia Lai officially opened its Fourth Ethnic Cultural Festival 2025 at Dai Doan Ket Square, Pleiku City.
The highlight of the festival was the art performance programme titled “Echoes of the Great Forest” presented by the Dam San Art Troupe alongside local artisans.
The highlight of the festival was the art performance programme titled “Echoes of the Great Forest” presented by the Dam San Art Troupe alongside local artisans.

The annual event, organised by the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the annual event aims to preserve and promote the distinctive cultural identity of the province’s ethnic communities.

Tran Ngoc Nhung, Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, made a speech at the opening ceremony.

Tran Ngoc Nhung, Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, made a speech at the opening ceremony.

This year’s festival is among activities in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South (April 30, 1975 –2025), the 79th anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh’s letter to the Congress of Southern Ethnic Minorities (April 19, 1946 – 2025), and Vietnamese Ethnic Culture Day (April 19).

In his opening remarks, Tran Ngoc Nhung, Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, underscored the significance of the event in honouring the rich heritage of ethnic communities.

The festival gathers nearly 800 artisans in the province

The festival gathers nearly 800 artisans in the province

The two-day festival gathers nearly 800 artisans from 17 districts, towns, and cities across the province. The event features a variety of cultural activities, including recreations of traditional communal spaces, gong performances, folk songs and dances, demonstrations of traditional musical instruments, gong tuning techniques, ethnic costume showcases, artistic stilt walking, relay sack racing, and traditional rice pounding contests.

This year’s celebration re-enacted many unique and meaningful traditional rituals of the Gia Lai ethnic groups, such as the victory celebration ceremony, Rong house blessing, new rice festival, buffalo sacrifice, grave leaving ceremony, water offering, longevity blessing, wedding rituals, thanksgiving ceremonies, and village water procession.

Large crowds of locals and visitors attended the opening night.

Large crowds of locals and visitors attended the opening night.

After the opening ceremony, audience members were treated to the main artistic programme “Echoes of the Great Forest”, which featured captivating performances by the Dam San Art Troupe alongside local artisans.

NDO