The third National Folk Songs Festival will open in the northern province of Bac Ninh on April 5.

The concert in the Kinh Bac Culture House is the first from the festival held the area and will feature 46 items by 180 professional and amateur singers from dozen provinces and cities.

Folk songs handed down through generations will be performed during the biennale festival, which run from April 5 until May 24.

The festival, run by Vietnam Television (VTV), will continue with performance in Bac Can, the Central Highland of Lam Dong, Hue City, Phu Yen and Long An.

The series run in 2005 and 2007 were popular with viewers, said Trinh Le Van, head of VTV’s Literature and Art Department.

People from the areas and singers from folk art troupes will perform original folk songs from their localities accompanied by associated instruments.

The youngest performance is 19-year-old Pham Thi Trang from Bac Ninh Troupe while 79-year-old Tran Thi, from the Thai Binh Troupe, is the oldest.

Six performances will be broadcast live on the Vietnam Telivision’s Channel 3 on Sundays until May 24.