Saigon's delightful weekend with food expo, creative workshops and pet fun

Vietnam Foodexpo 2023

The four-day event Vietnam Foodexpo 2023 features over 500 booths from nearly 400 domestic and international enterprises, including representatives from over 20 countries and territories such as the U.S., Russia, Australia, China, South Korea, and Japan.

Vietnam Foodexpo gathers both local and foreign brands offering high-quality products. Photo courtesy of Vietnam Foodexpo

The event showcases a wide array of products, including agricultural and aquatic goods, processed food items, beverages, and technologies related to food processing, preservation, and packaging.

A key feature of the event is the Biotrade project's booths, highlighting the theme "Biodiversity: Where flavors harmonize." This project involves more than 20 small and medium-sized enterprises from Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia, displaying over 200 items like spices, seeds, rice, coconut, palmyra, tea, and coffee, all meeting international standards.

The Vietnam Foodexpo 2023 is accessible to the public at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center, situated at 799 Nguyen Van Linh Street, District 7. The event runs from Nov. 22 to 25, operating between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

DIY lampshade

A workshop hosted by Bang and 11:11 Espace offers attendees an opportunity to express their creativity by designing linen lampshades. These lampshades, resembling speakers, are made with ash wood bases and child-safe plastic bulbs, rendering them suitable for a variety of spaces, such as bedrooms or living areas.

A post for a DIY lampshades workshop. Photo courtesy of Bang - Lamp & Furniture

The workshop progresses from introductions and insights to hands-on activities, including drawing exercises and practical application on both practice and final lampshades, with breaks for relaxation and socializing interspersed throughout the process. The goal is to guide participants through a creative journey resulting in their unique lampshade designs.

The designs will be transferred to a processing facility where they are transformed into finished lamp products. Participants can then either pick up their lamps from 11:11 Espace or have them delivered to their homes within Ho Chi Minh City for an extra fee.

The workshop fee, which covers a linen lamp embellished with a unique design, is established at VND1,200,000 ($49) for pick-up and VND1,300,000 for home delivery. The workshop will take place at 11:11 Espace, located on the 7th floor of Amanaki Building, 10 Nguyen Dang Giai Street, District 2, on Nov. 25, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

KITES Kids Art Workshop

The Snap Cafe will host a kite-making workshop for children this weekend. Children between the ages of 4 and 10 have the opportunity to explore the art of creating their own kites and watching their creativity take flight.

KITES Kids Art Workshop allows kids to have fun with their creativity. Photo courtesy of The Snap Cafe

The participation fee for this event is VND250,000 ($10). The fee includes all materials and one kids, including a juice or milk for the kids.

The session will be conducted in English. The event will be hosted on Nov. 26, from 9 a.m. to 10:15 p.m., at The Snap Cafe, at 32 Tran Ngoc Dien Street, District 2.

To register for the event, interested individuals can contact The Snap Cafe through its Facebook page.

Workshop Dyeing Month - Eco Printing

The "Eco Printing" workshop introduces attendees to the art of eco printing or eco dyeing, a method utilizing natural materials such as flowers, leaves, buds, seeds, bark, or wood to create dye colors and patterns on fabric surfaces.

This workshop, held as part of the series "Workshop Dyeing Month" is designed to provide participants with a deep understanding of the eco printing process. The event aims to guide participants through the fundamental steps of eco printing, from material preparation to the identification of color-producing elements.

Participants will receive guidance on how to produce their own creations using dyeing technique at the "Eco Printing" workshop. Photo courtesy of A Way to Green

This event provides an opportunity for individuals to explore the Shibori technique, a Japanese dyeing technique that creates unique patterns by manipulating fabric before dyeing. Attendees can gain not only theoretical knowledge but also practical experience in creating patterns on their own products.

The workshop fee is set at VND450,000 ($18) per person, inclusive of a finished product, practice tools, and materials. It will be hosted on Nov.25, at 9 a.m., at 31-33 Thach Thi Thanh Street, District 1.

The event is limited to 20 participants. Interested individuals can register through the provided link.

Pet Perfect

A pet festival titled "Pet Perfect" is set to happen this weekend in Suoi Tien Theme Park, presenting a diverse range of activities and incentives for both participants and attendees.

The festival offers diverse activities such as cat and dog fashion competitions, contests focusing on the health and beauty of cats and dogs, and an exhibition showcasing different hamster breeds.

Additionally, the festival includes the Agility Area, which is open to all pets and hosts competitions like fast-eating, sprinting, and obstacle courses, with attractive prizes available for participants.

The "Pet Perfect" event provides an opportunity for your pets to engage in competitions but also to ensure that pets have an enjoyable and entertaining experience. Photo courtesy of Suoi Tien Theme Park

Fee is VND150,000 ($6) per person. Participants in pet contests get two complimentary single tickets. Moreover, visitors with pets and valid vaccination records enjoy a 50% discount on single entrance tickets, reducing the admission fee to VND75,000.

For festival participants, registered dogs (and cats) receive complimentary entrance tickets and discounted game rates, with a registration fee of VND49,000 ($2) per dog (or cat) per competition. All registration fees will be donated to an animal rescue station to aid stray, sick, and abandoned dogs and (cats).

The festival is scheduled for Nov. 25 and 26, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Suoi Tien Theme Park, located at 120 Hanoi Highway, District 9.