The Hoi An Holiday Bazaar, is an annual community event organized by the parents community at Hoi An International School. This event is always a great opportunity for everyone, especially families and friends, to enjoy the spirit of the holiday season with music performances and activities while also embracing our community and supporting local businesses.
This year was the third year that we had the Bazaar. The scale of this year’s event was much larger: nearly 80 different stalls and almost 1,000 attendees from both Hoi An and Da Nang communities. In addition to the diverse entertainment and activities, there was quite a variety of vendor stores: fashion, handicrafts and the food area are bigger and more diverse, including more booths of HAIS students and other students.
The HAIS campus has truly turned into a magical wonderland; full of Christmas colours, vibrant lights, busy shopping areas, and many entertainment areas for children. As soon as families entered the gate, they were greeted by the lovely reindeer, invited to the Elf Workshop, played in the snow, met and chatted with Santa Claus and enjoyed many other fun activities.
We also witnessed great performances with talents from HAIS and other members of the Hoi An/Da Nang community. Everyone immersed themselves in the fun Zumba dancing and the music from the international bands.
What made the Hoi An Holiday Bazaar so unique this year, was that the event was held closer to the Christmas Holiday than in previous years. Due to the current situation of Covid-19, many people in our community were unable to return to their home countries to celebrate Christmas and to reunite with their families. That is why we endeavoured to create a warm, traditional Christmas – for those who come from far away, where they can still enjoy a real Christmas atmosphere, and satisfy the feeling of homesickness. We wanted to bring an opportunity for East and West convergence; a cultural exchange to better understand Western traditions through this special occasion.
This year’s Bazaar brought great spiritual value in the community, dispelled the difficulties of 2020 and welcomed a bright prospect for 2021.
I would like to sincerely thank everyone who participated in Hoi An Holiday Bazaar, making a contribution to the event’s tremendous success and creating a meaningful community event.
I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a happy, prosperous new year!
Tran Hanh An
Parent, Founder and CEO of HAIS