Cần Thơ traditional cake fest scheduled for Hùng Kings’ Day

March 13, 2025 - 13:51
The Cửu Long (Mekong) River Delta city of Cần Thơ will host its annual Southern Traditional Cake Festival on April 4-8 to mark Hùng Kings’ Commemoration Day, falling on the 10th day of the third lunar month of the year.
SWEET: Different kinds of signature sweet and savoury cakes from the south will be presented at the Southern Traditional Cake Festival held in Cần Thơ City from April 4 to 8. VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Liêm

CẦN THƠ — The Cửu Long (Mekong) River Delta city of Cần Thơ will host its annual Southern Traditional Cake Festival on April 4-8 to mark Hùng Kings’ Commemoration Day, falling on the 10th day of the third lunar month of the year.

The festival, organised by the city’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, has the theme of “Preserving and promoting cultural values of Southern traditional cakes.”

It aims to raise people's awareness of national cultural values and nurture their national pride and responsibilities in preserving and promoting cultural identities.

The opening ceremony of the festival on April 4 will highlight southern traditional performing arts such as tài tử music, which was recognised as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2013, and cải lương (reformed opera) featuring Cần Thơ’s leading traditional art troupe – Tây Đô Theater.

The festival will include 200 – 250 stalls featuring signature sweet and savoury cakes from the south such as bánh da lợn (a steamed layer cake made from tapioca starch, rice flour, mashed mung beans), bánh bò thốt nốt (palm sugar honeycomb cake), bánh cống (crunchy fresh shrimp cake), bánh xèo (sizzling rice pancake), and bánh khọt (deep-fried shrimp pancake).

SAVOURY: Artisans make a giant bánh xèo (sizzling rice pancake) to serve visitors at the 2024 Southern Traditional Cake Festival in Cần Thơ. VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Liêm

It will also feature speciality, traditional dishes and fruits from southern provinces and other regions.

The display will introduce souvenirs and OCOP (One commune, One product) products of the city and Mekong Delta provinces as well.

The festival will attract more than 100 artisans to present cooking demonstrations and offer cooking classes to visitors.

Visitors will have an opportunity to participate in traditional cake-making competitions at the event.

The organiser will host a ritual of offering traditional cakes in tribute to the Hùng Kings and other ancestors at the Hùng Kings’ Temple in Bình Thủy District on April 7.

The festival will be held at Bình Thủy District Square. It is expected to attract around one million visitors in five days. — VNS

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