The event, slated for 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. this coming Saturday, is jointly organized by the Taichung City Government and the Commerce Department of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), and executed by the China Productivity Center.

Over 80 GSP-certified suncake and wedding cake makers, wedding service shops and wedding banquet organizers in central Taiwan will attend the event to provide one-stop shopping services to those who are going to get married.

The festival will feature a series of drumming, dancing and saxophone playing performances, and will witness interesting interaction activities between visitors and exhibitors, with various prizes available for lucky visitors, including LCD TVs, foldable bikes, notebook computers and iPhones. Visitors will enjoy one free box of suncake if they buy one box.

Suncake is a famous snack food in Taiwan, originating from Taichung City. The typical fillings consist of condensed malt sugar and they are usually sold in special gift boxes as souvenirs for visitors. Some famous suncake pastry shops often have long lines of people waiting to buy boxes of suncake.

The shape of suncakes is round and they vary in size. They are characterized by their crunchy crusts. Most people eat them with Chinese tea, and some people dissolve them in hot water to make a porridge-like dessert.

At a press conference held yesterday, Taichung Mayor Jason Hu said that suncake is an eternal glory and pride of Taichung, increasingly popular at home and abroad.

Besides maintaining production of suncakes in Taichung City, Hu said, some makers have set up production lines in mainland China, and some foreign makers are inviting domestic makers to set up suncake manufacturing plants in their countries.

Meanwhile, a spokesman with the Commerce Department said that the event will allow a good chance for makers of similar products to exchange views and learn from each other concerning how to upgrade their product and service quality, and for visitors to learn more about the GSP system.

For more information, please access www.sunpie.com.tw.