Stand on the Hậu River Bank as the Boats Light Up
It is just past 6:30 PM and the riverside stretch from Hau River Park in Cai Khe Ward to Ninh Kieu Wharf Park is already thick with people. Decorations and light displays have been up since December 20, and by the time the opening ceremony begins at 8:00 PM at Khai Luong Canal, the water itself becomes the stage: a boat parade moves along the Hậu River, folk music is performed from boats, street parades thread the crowds, and flyboard demonstrations throw spray into the dark. The whole program runs about 110 minutes. Arrive before 6:30 PM if you want a clear vantage point, and expect the riverside wind to pick up after 9 PM.
Six Days of Nights on the Hậu River
The Can Tho River Culture Festival is a city-level annual event themed "Can Tho – The Colors of the River." The inaugural edition ran December 27, 2025 to January 1, 2026 and drew an estimated 500,000 visitors across six days and five nights. The second edition is scheduled for December 26, 2026 to January 3, 2027, centred on Ninh Kieu and Cai Khe wards and the surrounding riverside. Entry to art programs, exhibitions and public activities is free; you pay only for food, shopping and river tours. Plan on roughly 200,000–400,000 VND per person for food.
- Nightly art programs at Hau River Park, with drone light shows set to music and low-altitude fireworks — in the 2025 edition these ran December 28–30 at 7:30 PM.
- Water sports on the Hậu River: motorboat racing, sailing races, stand-up paddleboard racing and flyboard demonstrations. The 2025 program put sailing on December 28 and SUP racing at Cai Khe Canal on December 29.
- Floating market reconstruction: models, miniatures and live art programs recreating river merchant life and Can Tho's floating market culture.
- New for 2026–27: water music performances, mini Ngo boat races, model boat racing competitions, SUP boat parades, floating lantern releases on the river, exhibitions of traditional Mekong Delta farming and fishing tools, a high-quality Vietnamese products fair, tourism connection and experiential activities, culinary spaces, and a "Protecting the River Environment" community campaign. The festival also includes activities welcoming New Year 2027.
- Closing ceremony at Hau River Park — 7:00 PM on January 1 in the 2025 edition.
Eat Your Way Along the OCOP Stalls
More than 150 stalls fill Hau River Park for the duration of the festival, running December 27 to January 1 in the 2025 edition. A culinary showcase on December 27–28 brings in restaurants and hotels to demonstrate signature dishes — look for banh mi Tay Do, hu tieu Nam Phang and water snails. The trade fair side of the festival highlights OCOP (one commune one product) goods from Mekong Delta provinces, so you can eat and shop in the same pass. Evenings sit around 23–26°C in the dry season, which is exactly the weather for grazing stall to stall.
See the Real Floating Market Before the Festival Wakes
The festival's floating market reconstruction is a recreation; the working Cai Rang Floating Market is not. Be on the water by 5:30 AM — the market winds down by 8 AM — and you will see the river economy the festival exists to honour, before the evening crowds have even thought about dinner. Pair it with the free photo exhibition "Life on the River – The Mekong Delta Past and Present" at Ben Ninh Kieu Park, which runs throughout the festival.
November Brings Its Own Calendar
If your dates bend earlier, Can Tho's cultural programme for the second half of 2026 ties activities to national holidays including Việt Nam Culture Day on 24 November. In November, the Khmer Ok Om Bok Festival — the Festival of Worshipping the Moon — falls under the full moon of the 10th lunar month, marking the shift from rainy to dry season. It brings a moon worshipping ritual, Khmer musical performances, Lôi Protip floating water lanterns on the Maspero River in Sóc Trăng and Phú Lợi wards, and an Ngo long boat race on the Maspero River expected to draw dozens of men's and women's teams from Cần Thơ and other Mekong Delta provinces. The same month, the Southern Dù Kê Theatre Festival, organised with the Việt Nam Theatre Artists' Association, stages a musical theatre style created by southern Khmer people in the early 20th century — performers in traditional Khmer costumes sing, dance and stage plays drawn from Khmer religion, traditional customs, Indian epics and contemporary social issues. From August to December, the city's Culture and Arts Centre also runs monthly performing arts activities with private art troupes.
Getting There and Sleeping There
- By air: Can Tho International Airport (VCA) has direct flights from Hanoi, Danang and Ho Chi Minh City.
- By road: about 3.5 hours from Ho Chi Minh City via Highway 1, or roughly 2.5 hours via the Trung Luong expressway.
- Book accommodation 6–8 weeks ahead — the first edition drew half a million visitors over six days.
Set your dates around the river, not the other way round. Book the room early, be at the Khai Luong Canal bank before 6:30 PM on opening night, and keep one dawn free for Cai Rang. The festival runs on the Hậu River after dark — plan your days around that rhythm and Can Tho will show you the Mekong the way it is actually lived.