COME TOGETHER FOR NDP 09!

With a month to go before the nation's 44th birthday, the celebration fever is already heating up in various parts of the island.

While the Float@Marina gears up for the biggest party of the year on 9 Aug, public exhibitions and activities will be held in the heartlands to reach out to all Singaporeans.

"These activities go beyond the Float@Marina because National Day ultimately belongs to all of us, so every Singaporean should come on board and be a participant of National Day," said Colonel (COL) Ang Heng, Chairman of the NDP 2009 Celebrations Committee, at a media brief on 9 Jul.

Besides the first-ever NDP countdown party, which will take place at Clarke Quay on 8 Aug, NDP roadshows will held on the weekends from 18 Jul to 9 Aug, at Toa Payoh HDB Hub, Jurong Point, Tampines Central and Marina Square.

Other than exhibitions showcasing selected entries of the "Singapore, My Home" photography competition, and "MyPledge" short film competition, the NDP roadshows will also feature performances by local artists and groups.

For those book-lovers out there, "READiscover Singapore", organised in partnership with the National Library Board, invites Singaporeans to read about how Singapore was built and to explore different aspects of the Singaporean identity.

In addition, to unravel what goes on behind-the-scenes of the nation's biggest live show, the "Making of NDP 09 Exhibition" at the Singapore Discovery Centre will run from 8 Jul to end Aug.

On 9 Aug itself, for those who did not manage to snag tickets to NDP 09 can still be a part of the celebrations by heading down to eight Community Centres (CCs) fanned out across the island, to catch the live broadcast of the parade and participate in various activities, such as creating a 30 feet by 20 feet Singapore flag out of 8,000 birthday cards organised by Changi Simei CC.

Said Mr Koh Tong Seng, Chairman of Changi Simei Citizens Consultative Committee: "By getting the residents to sign the birthday cards for Singapore to make a flag, we want them to feel they have a stake in the nation."

With such an exciting line up of activities from now till 9 Aug, come together and join in the National Day celebrations!