Ready for autumn festival

Solemn rituals, spreading heritage values

Following the full rehearsal on the evening of September 24 at Kiep Bac Temple, the team of artists and performers is continuing to complete the final preparations for the art program serving the ceremony commemorating the 726th death anniversary of National Hero Tran Hung Dao, the opening of the 2026 Con Son - Kiep Bac Autumn Festival, and the unveiling of the brand identity for the Yen Tu - Vinh Nghiem - Con Son - Kiep Bac World Heritage Site.

The combination of music, dance, performing arts, festival drums, and lion and dragon dances with lighting technology and LED visuals helps portray the life, career and contributions of Tran Hung Dao, while highlighting the historical and cultural depth of the heritage region.

“We want the sound of the drums not only to create a festival atmosphere but also to become a way of telling stories. From the spirit of Van Kiep, the program expands its emotional narrative into the Con Son - Kiep Bac space, where the values of history, culture, thought and spirituality converge. Singing, dancing, music and performing arts are used to connect the past with the present, bringing the heritage story closer to today’s audience,” said People’s Artist Dat Tang, the program’s general director.

Following the full rehearsal, the team is continuing to review the content and adjust the stage, lighting, LED screens and technical elements to ensure that the program is both artistically rich and appropriately solemn for the event. The official festival opening is taking place on the evening of September 26 and will be broadcast live on the channels and digital platforms of the Hai Phong Newspaper, Radio and Television.

A wide range of distinctive activities

The 2026 Con Son - Kiep Bac Autumn Festival is scheduled for nine days, from September 26 to October 4, featuring a series of cultural, artistic, religious and experiential activities. Alongside incense-offering and announcement ceremonies at Kiep Bac Temple, incense offerings at Con Son Pagoda, the ceremony commemorating the 584th death anniversary of National Hero and World Cultural Figure Nguyen Trai, and the ceremony at Nguyen Trai Temple, the festival will also feature the Kiep Bac Temple seal-opening ceremony, trance performances, a peace-prayer ceremony, a flower-lantern festival on Luc Dau River, a procession, a ritual ceremony and the death anniversary ceremony of Tran Hung Dao.

Many folk cultural experiences will also be organized, including the Culture, Tourism and Trade Promotion Week, water puppetry at Kiep Bac Lake, and traditional artistic performances and cultural enactments.

Along with preparations for the festival program, the landscape and facilities at the heritage site have been renovated. Around 5,000 festival flags, along with strings of flags and lanterns, have been installed in many areas; trees have been trimmed, environmental sanitation efforts have been stepped up, and some spaces have been arranged as check-in points in harmony with the heritage landscape. Piers, parking areas and roads leading to the heritage site are continuing to be completed; food stalls and shops are being reorganized; and plans to ensure public order and traffic safety are being proactively implemented.

Service quality is also receiving attention. The People’s Committee of Tran Hung Dao Ward is organizing training on food safety, reception, communication and customer service for business households, requiring them to display prices, ensure hygiene, control food origins and improve the quality of accommodation and other services.

Comprehensive preparations, from rituals and artistic performances to the landscape and services, will provide a foundation for the 2026 Con Son - Kiep Bac Autumn Festival to take place safely and smoothly, continuing to promote the values of the world heritage region and bringing the historical and cultural values passed down through generations more deeply into contemporary life.

HAI HAU