Harmony World Puppet Carnival is one of the largest puppet festivals in the world. The carnival has been inaugurated since 2008 and annually held from its inauguration. This is one of the world's biggest cultural event in 2014. Attending in the carnival, Vietnam performed a puppet show named "Homeland melody", which was staged depending on traditional folk songs attached to daily life of Vietnamese farmers. Animated puppets in the show were made from bamboo and rattan, the familiar and typical material of the country. "Homeland melody" show surpassed 856 other puppet shows from 80 countries to become a winner and received award "The most special repertoire in Harmony World Puppet Carnival 2014". This information was announced by Deputy Director of The Vietnam Puppetry Theater on November 18th. Especially, the carnival did not offer the special prize, the second prize, and the third prize as other usual competitions. In the carnival, "Homeland melody" was the only one repertoire getting award.
According to Mr. Rod Petrovic - Executive Producer, Head of the Organizing Committee, and also a member of the Jury, this was the most attractive and impressive performance. "Homeland Melody is really a Vietnamese show with animated puppets made from bamboo and rattan. Using these materials to make puppets is a clever choice because bamboo and rattan are familiar materials of Vietnam which remind international friends thinking about the country", Mr. Rod Petrovi shared his emotion about the Vietnamese puppetry show. “Homeland Melody" left audience strong and different feelings about ordinary life of Vietnamese people and sceneries. The show was in harmonious combination among lively music, movements of puppets, and changes in stage.
Deputy Director of The Vietnam Puppetry Theater said that attending in Harmony World Puppet Carnival 2014, there were 8 Vietnamese famous artists including Thuy Trang, Tien Dung, Kim Thoa, Thu Hoan, The Long, The Hien, Ngoc Triu, and Thu Huong. Vietnamese Puppet delegation was honored to exchange and perform with 160 art groups from all over the world. During the time attending in the festival, Vietnam delegation performed 5 times including one in an official contest, one in the opening ceremony, and the rest to serve audience. Mr. Nguyen Tien Dung also shared that Vietnam puppet shows were greeted by huge cheers from audience. Following the success of the first performance, the Organizing Committee decided to organize another show on November 8th in the largest outdoor stage in Thailand. During 50-minute-performance, audiences experienced different emotions from surprise, excitement to admiration.