“Let’s party for peace!” MAG Vietnam’s Country Programme Manager Jimmy Roodt shouted on stage, and the 1,000-plus people attending the MAG Music Festival screamed excitedly back.
The festival, held on 25 April, raised US$20,000, which will be used to directly support MAG’s work in Vietnam.
Ten bands and eleven DJs from Asia and elsewhere gave performances which never ceased to amaze the crowd throughout the day.
Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.
Messages and images about MAG and the unexploded ordnance (UXO) / landmine issue in Vietnam were displayed around the event site – at the entrance, on lightboxes, on the backdrop of the main stage – and plenty of MAG stickers could be seen on the cheeks, arms, foreheads and even bald heads of the festival-goers.
Despite a long, tiring trip up to Hanoi, nearly 30 MAG staff tirelessly answered questions, sold t-shirts and demonstrated how to use a metal detector.
The raffle was another highlight, with 11 lucky winners sharing a pool of prizes worth up to US$4,500. Ms Paula Neron, a consular officer from the Canadian Embassy, and Ms Viola Chiasson, an English teacher, won the first prize – two VIP tickets to the ‘Jack Daniels Global Tour Singapore Music Fest 2009’ in Singapore, plus flights and five-star accommodation.
The event was the first fund-raiser of its kind for MAG Vietnam. "MAG has worked in Vietnam for ten years, but has kept a relatively low profile," said Truong Thi Thu Thuy, MAG Vietnam’s Communications Officer. "This event marked a turning-point."
"Fantastic, really fantastic! I’m proud to be part of MAG. We have worked hard for the festival and it was so rewarding. There should be other events like this in the future,” said Project Logistics Officer Pham Ba Trung.
The MAG Music Festival received generous support from Tiger Beer, Vietnamobile, Jack Daniels, Hoang Long and Hoan Vu JOCs, Le Media, Hilton Hanoi Opera Hotel, Hanoi Hotel, Xone FM, Sofitel Hotels, and Santa Fe.
At the event, MAG also gave sincere thanks to government donors including the UK Government’s Department for International Development (DFID), Irish Aid, the US State Department, and Jersey Overseas Aid Commission.
More photos from MAG Music Festival:
http://abdphoto.net/music.html
http://colmpiercephoto.com/content/view/42/44/
http://newhanoian.xemzi.com/vi/event_images/list/1424
14 May 09
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