Vietnamese cultural festival (Issue 7, 2009)
Student performance at the festival
On 31 March the La Trobe Vietnamese Students Organisation (LAVISA) organised the first cultural festival Hello Vietnam.
The event took place in the Agora at the Melbourne (Bundoora) campus and attracted a large crowd of students and staff who wanted to learn more about Vietnamese culture and enjoy a day of fun in the sun.
La Trobe International and the Faculty of Law and Management were the main sponsors of the event and Professor Raymond Harbridge, Dean of Faculty of Law and Management opened the event with a speech about the importance of a cultural event on campus.
Thao Ta, one of the main organisers of the event, who is studying a Bachelor of Business, said:
‘When I came to La Trobe last semester, I realised that although there are a lot of Vietnamese students on campus, there is not enough knowledge about Vietnamese culture. I wanted to introduce Vietnamese food, traditions and culture to the La Trobe community.’
One hundred Vietnamese students volunteered and they did a great job of organising the event in only a few weeks. At lunchtime, free Vietnamese food stalls were installed and they were immediately approached by students who wanted to try the inviting specialties.
Students prepared artistic performances and games to entertain the crowd. Among the performances were Bamboo dancing, Ao Dai dancing, a musical performance by student Trong Com and games involving public participation. A film booth was placed in the centre of the Agora showing footage about Vietnam and Vietnamese souvenirs were offered for sale. At the end of the day, all the student organisers joined the stage for some more Bamboo dancing.
Hello Vietnam was a great success and LAVISA organisers hope that the event will be held annually so that the students and staff of La Trobe University can continue to learn about Vietnamese culture.
