Count Down on the Hau River at Hau River Park
On the night of 31 December 2026, the crowd gathers at Hau River Park in Ninh Kieu Ward for Can Tho's New Year's Eve Countdown programme — an evening of artistic performances and entertainment running toward midnight. This is the anchor of the city's New Year period and the centrepiece of the second Can Tho River Culture Festival, themed "Can Tho – A Harmonious Melody of Rivers and Waters." Arrive early enough to walk the riverfront, where the crowd thickens as the countdown approaches and the water itself becomes the backdrop.
The festival itself runs across the turn of the year. One source dates the official programme from 30 December 2026 to 4 January 2027, while another gives the festival's span as 26 December 2026 to 3 January 2027; either way, main activity is concentrated in Ninh Kieu Ward, Cai Khe Ward and surrounding areas. If you build your trip around one stretch of days, build it around these.
Watch a Stage Float on the Cai Khe Canal
The festival opens with an art programme at Cai Khe Canal, staged on barges built out on the water — an arrangement that turns the canal into the auditorium. The opening is expected to be broadcast live on VTV, and it is followed by a water music show, a drone light show and low-altitude fireworks.
Fireworks and drone displays recur through the festival programme, so if you miss the opening night, watch the published schedule for the countdown and other evenings. The city has run this festival once before, in 2025; the 2026–2027 edition is the second, and its organisers have stated the aim of making it an annual regional event.
Walk a Recreated Floating Market and Eat Your Way Through It
Among the most distinctive things to do here is to visit the recreated floating market space, assembled with roughly 30 to 40 boats selling traditional cakes, fruit and Mekong Delta specialties, accompanied by traditional folk music performances. You are not just looking at boats — you are buying from them, on the water, the way the delta has always traded.
Food and craft are spread across several parts of the programme:
- The floating market re-creation — traditional cakes, fruit and Mekong Delta specialties sold from 30–40 boats, with folk music.
- Can Tho Trade Fair 2026 — 200–250 booths covering OCOP products, agricultural products, seafood and Mekong Delta specialties, plus a food court and cooking demonstrations.
- Culinary spaces — part of the wider festival programme, alongside tourism connection and experiential activities.
- Exhibitions of traditional Mekong Delta farming and fishing tools — the context behind what you are eating and how it reaches the city.
The trade fair also includes business networking and a regional tourism promotion space, so it functions as both a market and a showcase of the delta's producers.
Get on the Water — or Watch Others Race It
The festival treats the river as a venue rather than a view. Across the programme you can watch or join water-based activity: sailing races, SUP board races, model boat races, mini ngo boat races and an expanded composite hull racing championship. Experiential activities include SUP paddling, kayaking, jet skiing, paragliding and lantern releasing on the river.
Elsewhere in the programme, look for the "Living with the River" community festival, the "Charming Ao Ba Ba" contest, and an educational programme on protecting the green river — the last tied to a "Protecting the River Environment" community campaign that runs alongside the celebrations. Participants include Mekong Delta localities and culture and tourism businesses, and the city has framed the festival around links with Ho Chi Minh City, Mekong Delta provinces and Mekong sub-region countries.
Plan Around the Turn of the Year
Can Tho's New Year activity is concentrated in the days on either side of 1 January, with the festival's official span given as either 30 December 2026 to 4 January 2027 or 26 December 2026 to 3 January 2027, and main venues in Ninh Kieu and Cai Khe wards. The countdown belongs to Hau River Park; the opening and water-stage events belong to Cai Khe Canal. Beyond those fixed points, the programme rotates through water sports, exhibitions, fairs and community events, so treat the daily schedule as something to check on arrival rather than assume in advance.
Because the festival is designed to stimulate year-end tourism, trade and services, expect the city to be busy and the riverfront to be the centre of gravity each evening. Base yourself within reach of Ninh Kieu and Cai Khe, and you can walk to most of it.
Start with the dates — the festival spans the turn of the year, with New Year's Eve at Hau River Park. Book your accommodation near the Ninh Kieu and Cai Khe riverfront while the festival programme is still being published, and you will spend the turn of the year where Can Tho puts its river — on stage, on the water, and in the market boats.