Promoting Dong Nai’s image through festivals

The spring festival season in the Year of the Horse 2026 is not only an occasion for people to return to their roots but also affirms the strong transformation of Dong Nai province.

The Annual Traditional Boat Racing Festival on the Dong Nai River takes place in early spring, attracting the attention of residents and visitors. Photo: My Ny

With efforts in heritage preservation and the application of modern promotional technology, the festivals in Dong Nai have grown beyond the village settings to emerging as a vital endogenous resource driving socio-economic development and reaching audiences both domestically and internationally.

Attractive early-year festivals

Following the Lunar New Year of the Horse 2026, Tran Bien ward is one of the localities hosting several spring festivals. From February 25 to March 1 (the 9th to the 13th day of the first lunar month), the Ong Pagoda Festival at That Phu Ancient Temple, located in Nhi Hoa quarter, will be organized. The festival was inscribed on the National Intangible Cultural Heritage List in 2023 by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Huynh Huu Nghia, Head of the Management Board of That Phu Ancient Temple, noted that a new feature of this year’s Ong Pagoda Festival lies in the Welcoming Deity ceremony featuring Quan Thanh De Quan (Lord Guan), various folk deities, and the forefathers who contributed to expanding and building Dong Nai land. This year, the procession will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on February 26, with the schedule adjusted later than that in previous years to avoid peak-hour traffic congestion. Around 800 participants are expected to join in the procession, which will follow streets namely August Revolution, Nguyen Trai, Nguyen Van Tri, and Phan Chu Trinh, covering a total round-trip distance of approximately 2.2 km.

“On the same evening, the 2026 Ong Pagoda Festival will officially open with a range of activities such as incense-offering rituals, documentary screenings about the festival, and an artistic performance themed Nhan nghia thien thu (Timeless Benevolence and Righteousness) staged by the Dong Nai Art Theatre. Throughout the festival, activities including flower lantern releases on the Dong Nai River, the release of blessing balloons, and folklore games will also take place, meeting the spiritual and cultural needs of the public,” Nghia said.

This year’s Traditional Boat Racing Festival on the Dong Nai River, organized by the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism in coordination with the Tran Bien Ward People’s Committee, will take place on February 28 (the 12th day of the first lunar month) in front of the Tan Lan Communal House relic site. As one of the representative cultural and sporting activities of early spring, the event attracts racing teams from communes and wards across the province as well as neighbouring localities. Besides recreating traditional cultural practices of Dong Nai residents, the festival fosters a vibrant atmosphere and promotes solidarity, perseverance, and community aspirations.

In the first quarter of 2026, Dong Nai is expected to hold a ceremony to announce the recognition of the worship of the Rice Goddess, Sayangva Festival of the Cho Ro ethnic group, which was inscribed on the National Intangible Cultural Heritage List by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2025. The festival is held annually by Cho Ro communities in areas such as Phu Ly, Dinh Quan, Bao Vinh, and Binh Loc from the 15th day of the second lunar month to the 15th day of the fourth lunar month. This is the largest annual festival of the Cho Ro people, held to pray for favourable weather, abundant harvests, peaceful lives, and prosperity for all households.

The province hosts nearly 400 festivals annually, including six inscribed on the National Intangible Cultural Heritage List and more than 150 traditional festivals of ethnic minority communities. Traditional ceremonies such as Ky Yen festivals regularly take place at communal houses, pagodas, and shrines, contributing to a vibrant and diverse spiritual and cultural landscape.

Digital technology expands the cultural space of festivals

Amid digital transformation, festivals in Dong Nai are no longer limited by space and time. Digital technology has become a “bridge” bringing heritage closer to communities, especially younger generations. For years, Dong Nai’s festivals have been recorded and livestreamed on social media platforms, such as Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok, allowing hundreds of thousands of viewers, both domestically and internationally, to follow traditional rituals and experience festival spaces via smartphones.

Notably, the culture, sports and tourism sector has applied technology to develop virtual reality tours at sites including Nguyen Huu Canh Temple and Tomb (Tran Bien Ward), the national relic of An Hoa Communal House (host of the Ky Yen Festival, Long Hung Ward), and Hang Gon Megalithic Tomb (host of the Ong Da Worship Festival, Hang Gon Ward). These initiatives enable visitors to interact and access automated audio guides without requiring tour guides. The integration of QR codes at heritage sites also allows visitors to easily access detailed information on their history, development, and associated festivals.

Ngo Tan Bong, Head of the Management Board of Hung Long Communal House (Chon Thanh Ward, Dong Nai province), said, "Each year during the seventh lunar month, the Cau Bong Festival of the Kinh ethnic group (Crop-praying festival) - recognised as National Intangible Cultural Heritage - takes place at the site. In recent years, the festival has been recorded and broadcast on television as well as digital platforms such as Facebook and YouTube, helping promote the local image and spread historical and cultural values to the wider community.”

The harmonious combination of preserving traditional values and applying digital technology has enabled the festivals in Dong Nai to reach wider audiences. Beyond meeting religious and cultural needs, the festivals have become drivers of socio-economic development and a channel for promoting the dynamic and culturally rich image of Dong Nai during international integration.

By My Ny - Translated by Minh Hong, Thu Ha