MORE WAYS TO CONNECT WITH NDP 2011

It's 55 days to National Day and as with any good party, the organisers of the National Day Parade (NDP) are sparing no effort to drum up the festive mood ahead of the big day. In building up to the parade, they have planned travelling exhibitions, a roadshow and various competitions to engage and enthuse Singaporeans in the run-up to 9 Aug.

"These efforts are aimed at connecting with Singaporeans, to let us feel the growing hype leading up to National Day. More importantly, we want Singaporeans to take some time to think about what the Singapore Spirit means to them and better participate in NDP 2011," said Major (MAJ) Kennedy Lim, chairman of the Outreach Management and Celebrations committee.

Keeping in line with this year's NDP theme of Majulah! The Singapore Spirit, a series of "The Singapore Spirit" exhibitions - which have already ended their tour at the Ang Mo Kio and Marine Parade community libraries - is currently at the Jurong Regional Library until 19 Jun. The exhibition will be travelling to various other places such as Sentosa and the Marina Barrage.

At these exhibitions, Singaporeans can walk through sections chronicling Singapore's past, the NDPs and key personalities who made a difference in Singapore's early years. Singaporeans will also have a chance to reflect on what the Singapore Spirit means to them and share this via the online platforms and postcards.

There will be another exhibition at the Singapore Discovery Centre named after this year's NDP theme from 7 Jul to 14 Aug. Besides depicting the Singapore's milestones, the exhibition will also host an interactive section compromising the various costumes, props as well as military and Home Team hardware from the NDP 2011 Show, Parade and Ceremony segments.

For two days beginning 23 Jul, NDP 2011 will make its way to town as "The Singapore Spirit" Roadshow descends on ION Orchard in the heart of the country's shopping belt. There will be stage performances featuring local celebrities, as well as fun-filled games and a lucky draw where the public can win NDP 2011 funpacks.

Those who are squeezed for time to make the trip to see the exhibitions and roadshow can still catch them via online channels such as the official NDP website, the NDPOnTheGo mobile application for smart phones and various social media platforms.

Six different competitions round off the engagement efforts. While some, such as the NDP Logo and T-shirt design competitions have already concluded, songbirds still have time to take part in the "Sing the NDP Songs" competition. The contest calls for video entries of teams performing past or present NDP songs in a show-choir format ala popular television series Glee. Just form a team, choreograph, film your performance and submit your video entries by 17 Jul to stand a chance to perform live at the finals held at the Singapore Discovery Centre!

For full details of the engagement efforts and roadshow timings, visit the official NDP 2011 website at www.ndp.org.sg and look under the "outreach" tab.