Southernmost Vietnam province to host festival featuring shrimp-catching, fishing contests

According to the Ca Mau Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the festival and a series of events celebrating Vietnam Culture Day (November 24) will take place at Phan Ngoc Hien Square in An Xuyen Ward and nearby venues from November 21 to 25.

The events are expected to cost more than VND31 billion (US$1.2 million).

The main exhibition area at the square will feature 350 booths.

Of these, 150 will showcase the shrimp industry, including advanced farming models such as rice-shrimp farming and shrimp cultivation in mangrove forests, as well as seafood processing lines and aquaculture supplies.

Visitors will also be able to use virtual reality technology to experience shrimp farming.

Another 156 booths will display products under Vietnam’s One Commune One Product program, including specialty goods from Ca Mau, other Mekong Delta localities, and northern provinces.

The remaining 44 booths will focus on recruitment and cuisine, providing information on jobs in the seafood industry and hosting culinary demonstrations featuring Ca Mau shrimp and crabs by 27 professional chef teams.

The festival is intended to strengthen the international standing of Ca Mau’s shrimp brand and promote a more sustainable shrimp value chain through ecological farming, high technology and climate change adaptation.

As part of the festival, a conference about Vietnam shrimp industry development is expected to bring together 200 representatives from ministries, businesses and international organizations.

A seafood trade-matching conference will also be held during the festival.

Events celebrating Vietnam Culture Day will highlight the traditions of the Kinh, Khmer and Hoa communities living in Ca Mau.

Highlights include a cultural night on November 22 and a street parade featuring 69 vehicles carrying cultural and artistic displays along major roads.

At the cultural, culinary and traditional craft spaces, visitors can explore southern Vietnamese houses and folk music, Khmer pagoda architecture and traditional pin-peat music, as well as calligraphy and lion dancing.

An exhibition of traditional southern Vietnamese ceramics is also planned.

Alongside the 2026 Ca Mau Marathon and an open composite boat race, the festival will feature a range of folk contests.

Participants can compete to catch shrimp in a pool, fish for giant freshwater prawns using traditional rods or reels, sort shrimp by size and species, assemble a model of the Ca Mau shrimp, and take part in a shrimp-themed costume performance.