What's on in Ho Chi Minh City?

Free

Got a working climate-tech prototype (energy storage, carbon capture, agri-waste recycling)? It could win you a share of a VND 15 billion grant: equity-free, fee-free, no hidden terms, awarded so you can run a real pilot in Vietnam. The judges are investors and corporates who stick around after the pitch. This is the fourth edition of Net Zero Challenge, run by Vietnamese VC firm Touchstone Partners and Singapore's Temasek Foundation, in partnership with the Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Development Studies (HIDS) and the Vietnam International Financial Centre (VIFC-HCMC). The first three editions drew over 1,500 applications; the 2025 round alone brought in more than 700 from 60 countries.

An exhibition, library and pop-up bookshop at Dogma Collection, built around reading and the written word and what printed matter does as it circulates: communication, self-education, governance, nation building. Contemporary works by Lesley-Anne Cao, Hà Ninh Phạm, Phan Thảo Nguyên and Shubigi Rao sit alongside archival material from the Dogma Collection. Curated by Linh Lê and Minh Nguyễn; the Vietnamese title comes from a Lê Đạt poem. Open Thursday to Sunday, 11am to 6pm, until February 28, 2027.

Free

Trần Đình Bình's first solo show at Quang San Art Museum marks his move from realism towards a semi-abstract language, still in Vietnamese lacquer. The work takes the mountains of the northwest and the changing city as its starting points, with organic curves running into geometric structures. Open daily 9am to 5pm until November 29, free entry.

Nguyễn Thái Bảo and Hoàng Phạm Gia Khang use video, games and interactive installations to ask what perception, body and presence mean when technology is both the medium and the subject. One work follows an artificial consciousness living in the body of a centaur; another turns machine vision into a pair of mechanical eyes looking back down at you. Curated by Hà Châu Bảo Nhi, produced by MakerLab VN. Open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 12pm and 1:30pm to 6pm, until November 29.

Vietnam's main international food and food industry trade show, organised by the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency, with 500+ booths of food and drink producers, ingredient suppliers, equipment makers and national pavilions across the SECC halls. Runs alongside SIAL Vietnam on the same dates. Open 9am to 5pm; visitors register online through the Foodexpo site.

Free

The first Vietnam edition of SIAL, one of the world’s largest food and beverage exhibitions: an all-in-one showcase spanning the whole industry, from ingredients and packaged food to drinks, equipment and food tech, with hundreds of exhibitors and international pavilions. Open daily 09:00 to 17:00.

The Goethe-Institut brings eight recent German films to Galaxy Cinema Nguyễn Du, all in the original language with English and Vietnamese subtitles. The programme runs on freedom, coming of age and the longing for connection, with titles including Oh, This Unspeakable Void, In Good Faith, Rose, The Last Whale Singer and Silent Friend. Screenings start at 6:30pm, with some open-air screenings as well. The Goethe-Institut's latest post says admission is free with RSVP and limited seats, though an earlier post listed 30,000₫ for the opening film, so check their page before booking.

Free

100s of people from around the world meet weekly to socialise, have a drink, and meet foreign and local people of all ages. It's chilled, fun and free. The flags: place flags on your chest top to bottom by fluency (flags for 200+ places available). Stand to mingle, sit to dwindle. Talk about anything you like, you don’t have to be an advanced speaker. Every Thursday. Reception 8pm–midnight (arrive then if you’re new or want the drink specials).

ViCo Circle is a monthly conversation for people working on a more sustainable Vietnam, kept to 15 to 25 people so there is real time to talk. The November edition looks at how sustainable hospitality actually works as Vietnam shifts from volume tourism towards long-term destination stewardship, with Miquel Àngel (MQL Sustainable Tourism Services), Eric Olmedo (CITRAC and the UEF International Institute) and Nguyễn Công Minh Bảo (Travelife Vietnam), then an open question and answer. 150,000₫ for ViCo members, 250,000₫ otherwise.

ViCo's movie night screens The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Ben Stiller's 2013 adventure comedy about a daydreaming negative assets manager chasing a missing photograph across the world for Life magazine's final print issue. 120,000₫ for ViCo members, 200,000₫ otherwise, pizza included.

Meet new people, make international and local friends, practice languages, and have fun over board games — a weekly meetup by BlaBla Community. English and Vietnamese are the most common languages. Register on the BlaBla Community website; café venue, so no outside food or drinks.

Free

Looking for the best place to practice languages and connect with people in Saigon? Welcome to Buddies Club - the biggest, most vibrant language exchange c

A weekly French film night at DCiné: every Saturday evening a French feature screens with subtitles, followed by an informal chat for anyone who wants to stay. A relaxed way to catch French cinema on a big screen in the centre of town.

Baby, children and maternity products expo — brands, gear and family services. Held at SECC (District 7).

The Pharcyde, one of the defining groups of 90s hip hop, play their first Vietnam show, with Passin Me By, Runnin and Drop in the set. Loud Minority present them at Backbeat in Thảo Điền, with support from Jase, Style-D and Stav. Doors 7pm. Early bird tickets were 1,200,000₫, 1,500,000₫ on the door, through loudminority.asia.

A two-hour pottery workshop with ViCo at Atelier de Zeynep in Thảo Điền: welcome tea, a talk from the studio artist, then hands-on work with clay, guided step by step, with your own piece to take home. 400,000₫ for ViCo members, 550,000₫ otherwise. Register through the form.

A Saturday morning walk through Chợ Lớn with Urbanist Travel and ViCo, past old shophouses and the modern University of Medicine to the Thiên Hậu Pagoda, with a stop for coffee from a family that has been roasting beans for over 70 years. Meets at the Youth Cultural House, 8:30am to 12:30pm. Register through the form; the price was not published, so check when you sign up.

A K-pop festival at Vạn Phúc City with Super Junior-83z, Chanyeol and NCT Dream, promoted by Seoul company Applewood. Doors to a 6pm start. Tickets on Ticketbox from 1,800,000₫, with higher tiers at 2,800,000₫ and 4,800,000₫.

Free

The Ho Chi Minh City edition of Vietnam Expo, the country’s long-running general trade fair: consumer goods, food, machinery and services from local and international exhibitors under one roof at SECC.

Home décor, furniture and garden products from local and international exhibitors. Held at SECC (District 7).

Five days of salsa, bachata and kizomba at the Victory Hotel on Vũng Tàu's Back Beach: 70+ artists from more than 30 countries, 16 DJs, 45+ shows, workshops and masterclasses, a live salsa concert and a kizomba concert, Jack and Jill and bachata battle competitions, and three social dance rooms running until 4am. Passes on go&dance: Full Pass 220 €, Party Pass 190 €, Kizomba Full Pass 120 €, with single tickets from 22 €. A coast trip from the city rather than a night out in town.

The ninth edition of Vietnam's largest running event, with 5km, 10km, half and full marathon courses (all AIMS-certified) through central Saigon's landmarks and about 24,000 runners expected. Every distance starts from Lê Duẩn and Nguyễn Bỉnh Khiêm, with a tentative gun time of 3:30am on Sunday December 6; race weekend activities run from December 4. Full marathon entry is 1,999,000₫, with cheaper half, 10km, 5km and kids' options. Expect road closures around the course on race morning.

Free

A beauty, spa and personal-care expo at SECC: cosmetics, skincare, haircare and salon brands, treatments and product launches over three days.