Held from June 26 to 28, the annual summer festival is organised by the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Union in response to the Action Month for Children, providing young people with opportunities to learn, play and connect with friends from different cultures.
Trinh Thi Hien Tran, Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union and Chairwoman of the city’s Ho Chi Minh Vanguard Children's Union, said the festival features a wide range of activities spanning culture, arts, sports, science, innovation and life skills.
Besides the main venue at the Ho Chi Minh City Children's House, parallel events are also being held at the Children's House's second campus in Thu Dau Mot ward and the Ba Ria–Vung Tau Youth Cultural House. The festival is expected to foster friendship, cultural exchange and mutual understanding between children in Ho Chi Minh City and their international peers living and studying in the city.
A highlight of Kids Fest 2026 is an interactive experience zone inspired by a Rubik's Cube, with six colourful sections representing creativity, arts, sports, knowledge, the environment, and family and global integration.
The creativity and digital citizenship zone introduces children to modern technologies through drone flying, AI Studio, QR code interaction and a "Future City" model-building activity. Ho Chi Minh City Police are also providing on-site electronic identification registration for children and their parents.
The green living and global citizenship area offers hands-on experiences with STEAM education, robotics programming, drone soccer, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, model racing, astronomy and fun science experiments. A new "Young Entrepreneurs" programme encourages children to present business ideas while learning communication, financial management and sales skills.
Families can also take part in cooking competitions, celebrity-led culinary experiences, nutrition consultations and multicultural food activities designed to strengthen family bonds. Other festival attractions include traditional folk games, creative handicraft workshops, music and dance performances, children's fashion shows, cultural exchanges, and demonstrations of Vietnamese and international traditional crafts.
Adding an international flavour, the festival features a multicultural village and an international food village showcasing traditional costumes, cultural artefacts, famous landmarks and cuisines from around the world./.
