PARIS — Lion dance drums, lantern displays, folk songs and traditional dance filled Nice city, southern France, with the sounds and sights of Việt Nam's Mid-Autumn Festival this year.

The Association of the Vietnamese Community in Nice (ACVNI) and the Vietnamese Cultural Centre in France co-hosted the event, which drew large crowds of Vietnamese people from the city and surrounding areas, along with French and international visitors.

It was the first time the festival had been staged in Nice at this scale, combining cultural and art programming with activities for families and children.

The highlight was a show by artists from the Việt Nam National Arts Theatre, who presented folk music and dance showcasing the diversity of Vietnamese performing arts. The event also included other cultural and art activities, children's experiences and Vietnamese food.

For children of Vietnamese origin born and raised in France, these offered a chance to experience customs tied to the childhoods of generations of Vietnamese and connect with their homeland and roots.

Visitors also sampled Vietnamese staples, including Hue-style beef noodle soup (bún bò Huế), bánh mì and iced milk coffee.

The festival was more than a celebration of childhood, but also a time for family reunions and lasting memories, ACVNI Chairwoman Phùng Thảo Huyền said in her opening speech. She hoped that it would bring joy to children while giving the Vietnamese community a platform to spread its cultural traditions in Nice.

Valerie Bothy-Lanfranchi, Deputy Mayor of Nice, said she was delighted to see local residents, especially children, turn out, and praised the Vietnamese community for passing on its cultural heritage to younger generations while sharing those traditions with the wider city.

Đinh Ngọc Đức, Director of the Vietnamese Cultural Centre in France, said the centre will keep working with Vietnamese associations on cultural, art and community exchanges. — VNA/VNS