Beauty to flower in many forms at festival

Beauty to flower in many forms at festival

The second Dalat Flower Festival promises to be more eye-catching than ever this year as it will also include the first Miss Vietnamese Ethnic Groups beauty contest.

The road to the Miss Vietnamese Ethnic Groups crown will be a long one. The beauty pageant is multi-tiered, with preliminary rounds feeding into the grand final, which will form part of the Dalat Flower Festival in December.

Each entrant will have to take part in four costume rounds, including the ao dai (traditional dress), traditional ethnic dress, evening gown and swimsuit.

In addition, contestants will have to demonstrate talents such as singing, flower arranging and cooking, which is a unique feature of the pageant.

A short list of 10-12 contestants will then be subjected to a personal interview typically a source of fierce contention.

œMiss Vietnamese Ethnic Groups will be unique and exciting, said Doan Thi Kim Hong, vice president of Vietnam Advertising Association and former winner of the Miss Favourite title at the Mrs World Pageant 2005.

œThe contest is a good opportunity for beauties nationwide to learn from one another, said Hong. œThat is the reason why we made the pageant a rich cultural contest to celebrate the wild healthy magnificent beauty of Vietnam.

The beauty contest will take place on December 22 and is open to unmarried women aged 18-28 and over 1.58m tall.

The Dalat Flower Festival Exhibition Fair, which will open on December 15, is both a cultural and tourist festival and an international commercial event. Foreign and local businesses can find opportunities to develop their investment projects in the fields of tourism and flower, tea and coffee exports. Organised by the People Committee of Lam Dong Province, the Flower Festival 2007 will introduce Vietnamese flowers to the world.

During the six-day event, hundreds of veteran and amateur artists from different provinces will perform from morning to late night. Traditional music and dance performances by ethnic minority groups of Gia Rai, E De, Thai and Muong will also be featured.

More than 100 local and foreign companies, including Dalat Hasfarm and the Phong Phu Garment Corporation, will display their products, production lines and facilities at nearly 1,000 stalls.

Several seminars about flower growing and export will allow participants to exchange business experiences and promote future projects. The festival is expected to welcome 80,000 visitors.