The 2024 "Ripe Fruit Season” festival, with the theme of "Lai Thieu Seasonal Rendezvous" organized by the province, was inaugurated on the evening of June 15 in Thuan An city’s Hung Dinh ward. At the festival, in addition to participating in vibrant, attractive cultural and sports activities, thousands of visitors from various places also immersed themselves in the culinary and tourism fair to enjoy the sweet and rich flavors of famous fruits from Lai Thieu and other districts and cities in the province as well as from other provinces.
Lively activities
One of this year’s festive activities attracting a large number of visitors on June 15 was the “Ripe Fruit Road” marathon. With nearly 3,000 participants, the marathon created an exciting competitive atmosphere, making this year’s "Ripe Fruit Season" festival more lively and meaningful.
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Tourists visit and buy fruits at stalls in the 2024 "Ripe Fruit Season" festival
The organizers selected routes with green orchards in wards of Hung Dinh, An Thanh and An Son commune. As running along these routes, the athletes not only enjoyed the fresh, cool air, but also enjoyed fresh fruits and refreshing drinks served by charming women in “Ao ba ba" (traditional costume for Southern people in Vietnam). Truong Van Tam, from Binh Duong Running Club, expressed his joy at the tournament to compete and exchange with many athletes. He hopes that the organizers will maintain the event annually.
On the afternoon of June 15, the fruit fair and culinary tourism festival, themed “Sweet Southern Flavors” welcomed many visitors who came to explore, shop and enjoy delicious fruits and specialty dishes from various localities. Stalls were filled with fruits such as mangosteens, durians, jackfruits, pomelos, oranges, tangerines, bananas and netted muskmelons, along with processed fruit products and specialty dishes. Visitors not only explored, but also enjoyed fruits and bought them as gifts.
Along with Binh Duong, the host province, the fair also featured participation from localities in the Eastern and Southwestern regions, namely Dong Nai, Binh Phuoc, Tay Ninh, Binh Thuan, Vinh Long, Tra Vinh, Ben Tre and Soc Trang as well as nearly 50 organizations and individuals in the culinary and fruit business. Nguyen The Hien, Vice Chairwoman of Thuan An city’s People's Committee said that the fair not only served as a venue to showcase and promote orchards, fruit products, OCOP products, tourism, and cuisine, but also provided an opportunity for localities, organizations, and individuals to foster cooperation, share experience and improve product quality. It was also a place for gardeners to exchange, honoring regional cultural values and local specialties.
Towards sustainable development
Binh Duong is known not only for its rich historical and revolutionary traditions with significant sites like D war base, Ho Chi Minh Campaign Forward Command, Tam Giac Sat tunnel and Thuan An Hoa base, but also for its famous specialties such as Lai Thieu mangosteen and My Lien “banh beo” (steamed rice cakes). Particularly, Lai Thieu mangosteen has been praised for its delicious taste and was recognized as a collective trademark by the Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam in 2013.
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The culinary area in the festive space attracts a large number of locals and tourists
In Thuan An city, many orchards still grow mangosteens, durians, rambutans and langsats in wards of Hung Dinh, An Thanh, Binh Nham and An Son commune. Some households have also opened their orchards to cater to dining and recreational experience for visitors. Every ripe fruit season which fallls in the 5th lunar month, these orchards attract many visitors. This sets the foundation for further development, especially in eco-tourism.
To honor the unique fruits of the local area and nearby regions, this year's "Ripe Fruits Season” festival was organized in Lai Thieu, known for its lush trees and sweet fruits. The festival aims at promoting sustainable development in agriculture, aligning with industrialization and modernization goals. It also serves to boost tourism development under the motto of “Close cooperation, coordinated efforts, extensive and comprehensive collaboration, sustainable efficiency”, making eco-tourism become a key economic sector of the locality.
At the opening ceremony of this year’s “Ripe fruit season”, Nguyen Loc Ha, Member of provincial Party Standing Committee and Vice Chairman of provincial People's Committee, urged orchard owners to continue their efforts with local authorities to maintain and develop specialty orchards. He emphasized the need to shift from an agricultural production mindset to an agricultural economy mindset, innovating business models towards professionalism and safety, contributing to building up a friendly, enthusiastic and hospitable image to attract more tourists to Lai Thieu and Binh Duong province.
Reported by Hong Thuan-Translated by Kim Tin
