In Can Tho, the central city of the Mekong Delta, the nighttime riverside is turning into a food festival. From July 18 to 26, 2026, the food festival 'Huong Sac Tay Do 2026 (Fragrance and Color of the Western Capital)' is being held along the Ninh Kieu riverfront (Ben Ninh Kieu). 'Tay Do (Western Capital)' is an old elegant name for Can Tho, the leading city of the Mekong Delta. For anyone traveling southern Vietnam in July, or living in the south and looking for a weekend destination, these nine days are among the liveliest of the year for Can Tho's nights. While it's on now, you can catch the festival's energy just by slotting one evening into your itinerary.
40 booths on the Ninh Kieu waterfront: a nine-day food festival
The festival venue is the Ninh Kieu waterfront, known as Can Tho's symbol. Here about 40 booths line up with dishes from across Vietnam, live demonstrations from traditional craft villages (lang nghe), and a corner introducing OCOP (One Commune One Product) goods from various regions. The organizer is the local Truc Giang Trade and Tourism Promotion Co., and the July 18 opening ceremony drew Nguyen Thi Ngoc Diep, vice chair of the Can Tho City People's Committee, along with city departments and local officials. To mark the opening, commemorative gifts were also presented to 20 households of local families of merit.
The draw isn't the food alone. Every night the venue stages performances—a fashion show of the ao ba ba, southern women's everyday wear, among acts that show off Mekong life. Eat, watch, walk: it's built to use the whole of Ninh Kieu by night.
Why Can Tho is investing in "night" now
This food festival is more than a one-off products fair. It is one move in Can Tho's push to develop the night-time economy (kinh te dem) to lift summer tourism, and the opening ceremony spoke of the aim to grow the Ninh Kieu pedestrian area into a 'safe, refined nighttime tourism space with local character.'
Efforts to capture nighttime spending are advancing across Vietnam, and even the capital has measures to extend nighttime business hours (Hanoi's nights grow longer as the city goes after what travelers spend after dark). Where Hanoi tries to stretch the night across the whole city, Can Tho gathers shops and people at the single point of the Ninh Kieu waterfront and creates nighttime bustle within a set period. It's a way for a provincial city to test a night economy at its own scale.
Can Tho's nights run in 'three acts'
One thing to keep in mind when planning: Can Tho's highlights divide neatly by time of day. During the festival you can string these three together in a single day.
| Time slot | Location | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Early morning (5:00-8:00) | Cai Rang floating market | One of the Mekong's largest floating markets, with about 100 years of history; roughly 30 minutes by boat (about 6 km) from the Ninh Kieu waterfront |
| Evening to night (around 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.) | Ninh Kieu Night Market | A night market where the street-food lane sits next to the shopping lane (around Phan Chu Trinh and Phan Boi Chau streets) |
| Night (July 18-26 only) | Food festival venue (Ninh Kieu waterfront) | 40 booths plus nightly performing-arts shows. An extra layer just for the festival period |
The Ninh Kieu waterfront itself opened in the 19th century and is now laid out as the roughly 7,000-square-meter Ninh Kieu Park. On a spot where people already gather in the evenings, the festival's 40 booths now sit on top.
How to design a day of Mekong travel
Here is the heart of how to make this festival work for your trip. Can Tho is not impossible as a day trip by road from Ho Chi Minh City, but at this time of year, a single overnight completely changes how you use the day. The recommendation is to plan backward.
- The first night: Head straight to the Ninh Kieu waterfront and graze through 40 booths of dishes from around the country. Time your visit to the performances and you can enjoy the show and the stalls at once.
- Straight on to the night market: the night market is right beside the festival grounds. Grab a light late-night bite on Phan Chu Trinh Street and browse souvenirs and clothes on Phan Boi Chau Street.
- The next morning, the floating market: set out by boat in the 5 a.m. hour to the Cai Rang floating market. Return before the sun is high and you can leave Can Tho by late morning.
The festival runs through July 26. During this stretch, with 40 booths on the waterfront and performances every night, the evening buzz outdoes an ordinary weekend. Go on the 27th or later and it returns to the usual Ninh Kieu waterfront and night market. If you can shift your visit by a day, it's worth aiming for before the 26th.
A festival as a provincial sales floor, lining up OCOP and crafts
The food festival is a gourmet event and, at the same time, a trade fair for the Mekong Delta's primary produce and processed goods. An OCOP product corner lines up dried foods, seasonings, and sweets made by farmers and small businesses from across the region. Demonstrations from traditional craft villages join in, and visitors can talk with the makers and buy on the spot.
This blend of "food × local color × night" pairs well with promoting tourism in the Mekong Delta. The same delta also holds layers of history, like Oc Eo, the ancient Funan port (1,500 years in the Mekong: the Funan port town of Oc Eo moves toward World Heritage status), the makings for showing travelers food and history together are all here. Can Tho's food festival is an attempt to turn those local resources into a nighttime marketplace. A place where you can talk directly with makers and buy from them also brings practical value to choosing souvenirs.
Visit notes (address, hours, access)
| Event name | The food festival "Huong Sac Tay Do 2026 (The Scent and Color of the Western Capital)" |
|---|---|
| Venue | Ninh Kieu waterfront (Ben Ninh Kieu) / Ninh Kieu District, Can Tho |
| Period | July 18–26, 2026 |
| Details | About 40 booths (food, traditional crafts, OCOP) plus nightly performances |
| Organizer | Truc Nghi Trade and Tourism Promotion Co., Ltd. |
| Nearby night market | Ninh Kieu Night Market (a stall district next to shopping streets, around Phan Chu Trinh and Phan Boi Chau streets), evening to around 11 p.m. |
| A next-morning detour | Cai Rang floating market (early morning 5-8 a.m., about 30 minutes by boat from the riverfront) |
| Access | Overland from Ho Chi Minh City. The venue is in central Can Tho, within walking distance of many hotels |
Summary: To the Ninh Kieu night by July 26
Can Tho's food festival lifts the night buzz for just nine days, with 40 booths gathered along the waterfront and performances every evening. A traveler's plan is easy to set: take one night in Can Tho by July 26, give the first evening to the Ninh Kieu waterfront festival and night market, and the next morning to the Cai Rang floating market. That uses a full Mekong day from morning to night without waste. If you live in the south with a free weekend, just head to the waterfront on Saturday evening. Even after the festival folds up, the waterfront and night market remain, but the 40 booths and nightly shows run only through the 26th. That's the best window for a night out in Can Tho.
Sources:Báo Cần Thơ (July 18, 2026)
