Artisans present huge bánh xèo (sizzling pancake) with lobsters at the 2025 Southern Traditional Cake Festival in Cần Thơ City. — VNA/VNS Photo Thúy Hằng

CẦN THƠ — The Mekong Delta city of Cần Thơ is planning to host its annual Southern Traditional Cake Festival and a book fair in April.

The Southern Traditional Cake Festival, the city’s most popular event, will be scheduled on April 26 – May 1 to mark Hùng Kings’ Commemoration Day, falling on the 10th day of the third lunar month of the year or April 26 and the 51st anniversary of the Liberation of Southern Việt Nam and National Reunification (April 30, 1975 - 2026).

The festival will include 200-250 stalls featuring signature sweet and savoury cakes from the south, such as bánh lá dừa (glutinous cake wrapped in coconut leaves), bánh pía (round cake filled with durian and green bean pastry), bánh nghệ Gò Công (woven turmeric rice vermicelli served with roasted pork or shredded pork skin, fish sauce and vegetable), and bánh tằm Ngan Dừa (thick coconut noodle served with meatballs, shredded pork skin, fish sauce and vegetable).

Visitors can have opportunities to learn to make various kinds of traditional cakes with local artisans or participate in cake-making competitions.

The festival will also feature specialty and traditional dishes and fruits from southern provinces and other regions, souvenirs and OCOP (one commune one product) products from the city and Mekong Delta provinces.

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

The event will also offer traditional music performances and folk games.

It will be held at Bình Thủy Square in Bình Thủy Ward, and is expected to attract around one million visitors in five days.

Students view books and magazines at the Cần Thơ Library. — VNA/VNS Photo Thúy Hằng

In addition, Cần Thơ will launch its fifth book fair from April 15-21 to mark the Việt Nam Book and Reading Culture Day on April 21.

The fair, having the theme of Sách - Tri Thức - Khát Vọng Phát Triển Đất Nước (Book – Knowledge – Aspiration for National Development), will display thousands of titles from 20 publishing houses and book distributors in the southern region.

The showcase will include rare and precious books and collections preserved by collectors in Cần Thơ and other provinces.

The event will feature a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the founding of Cần Thơ Library, and exchanges between authors and readers.

The fair will be held at the Tao Đàn Park in Ninh Kiều Ward. — VNS