Youthful imprints at the Con Son - Kiep Bac Autumn Festival 2023

Not afraid of hardship

Right after volunteering at the Chi Linh Festival (Hai Duong), Le Van Chuc, a student from Sao Do University, continued to move with his friends to Kiep Bac Temple to support activities at the Con Son - Kiep Bac Autumn Festival. The students cleaned, recorded the list of donors, arranged flowers, arranged tables and chairs, and helped ensure security and order during the night of distributing seals, praying for peace, releasing flower lanterns, etc.

Mr. Chuc said: "This is the first time I have volunteered at such a big festival. There are a lot of tourists coming, the work is quite hard but I feel very proud."

Along with 80 enthusiastic volunteers working at Kiep Bac Temple, more than 20 other students are also at Con Son Pagoda to support. The students flexibly divide their work shifts according to their school schedules, arranging their volunteering time accordingly.

Volunteering at festivals has been a long-standing tradition of Sao Do University students. In particular, twice a year at the Con Son - Kiep Bac Spring and Autumn Festivals, the school mobilizes about 100 students, of which the core is the Youth Volunteer Team, to support activities throughout the festival days. Regardless of the sun, rain, or hardship, the students bring their youth and enthusiasm to successfully complete the assigned tasks.

Ms. Le Thi Huyen, Secretary of the Youth Union of Sao Do University, said that volunteering at festivals is an annual activity of the Youth Union of Sao Do University. The youth of Sao Do University are very proud to contribute to the success of the festivals.

Pride Mark

With the theme "Convergence of the elite - Aspiration to shine", Chi Linh - Hai Duong Festival 2023 is the first major cultural festival held in Chi Linh City with many rich and attractive activities. 200 students from Sao Do University were selected to participate in 5 art performances in the Opening Ceremony. In order to have a successful performance, the students had to practice continuously for 1 month before to keep up with the program's schedule.

Ms. Vu Thi Thanh Loan, a student of class DK14-NTQ1, Faculty of Tourism and Foreign Languages, said that the performance had a large number of participants and required a large space, so the students had to practice outdoors. After the morning classes, the group divided into two practice shifts, in the afternoon and evening, continuously for a month. "Although it was hard, participating in the Festival performance was a very meaningful and honorable thing during my student years," Ms. Loan said.

In addition, about 50 children from Hai Duong Province Children's House also participated in the performances at the Mid-Autumn Festival "Lanterns light up dreams" on the evening of September 29.

One of the activities that left an impression of the Festival was the procession of 21 giant lanterns symbolizing the zodiac animals, images associated with the people and children. The Youth Union of communes and wards coordinated with the authorities, local people and artisans to come up with ideas and skillfully create giant mascot models. On the Mid-Autumn night, the tigers, dragons, carps, etc. were shimmering and colorful, carried through many streets, leaving an impression on visitors from inside and outside the province. In addition, each unit also brought to the Full Moon Festival a very eye-catching moon-watching tray.

Also included in the series of activities at the Festival is the Mid-Autumn Festival experience space for children. The children are guided by the teachers to make moon cakes, sticky rice balls, green bean cakes, make figurines, draw masks and play folk games such as tug of war, sack jumping, etc. The image of young men and women wearing the Youth Union uniforms enthusiastically doing logistics work and preparing for the festival leaves a deep impression on the locals and tourists.

To ensure the smooth running of the festival, the Hai Duong Provincial Youth Union and the Chi Linh City Youth Union mobilized about 1,000 youth union members to directly support the Chi Linh - Hai Duong Festival and the Con Son - Kiep Bac Autumn Festival.

Mr. Phuong Quoc Luyen, Secretary of Chi Linh City Youth Union, said that this was the first time Chi Linh City organized a large festival, so the City Youth Union mobilized a large number of young people from communes, wards, and high schools to participate in supporting many contents. These were also memorable experiences for Chi Linh youth during this festival.