Ben Tre kicks off coconut festival

The Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Ben Tre will stage a five-day festival starting on January 15 in honour of its native fruit, the coconut, provincial officials said at a press conference.
The festival is timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Dong Khoi Ben Tre, or the uprising of local residents against the US-backed Sai Gon regime.
Organised by the provincial People’s Committee under the direction of the Ministry of Trade and Industry and Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the festival will feature cultural, trade and investment activities.
The main features include a coconut products fair, a week for small – and medium-sized enterprises, a cooking competition, a flower lantern evening, a commemoration ceremony for the uprising movement, a masquerade in coconut costumes, children’s performances and a bike race, among others.
Comprised of three big islands separated by main tributaries of the Mekong, Ben Tre is one of the most isolated provinces in the delta and has long been stereotyped as a "land of coconuts".