One of the largest celebrations of Tết, the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, in Orange County is back in the heart of Little Saigon.
The Union of Vietnamese Student Associations of Southern California has been organizing the Tết Festival for more than 40 years; it got its start at Garden Grove Park.
Hoa Nguyen, top, poses for a photo with daughter Maryanne Tsui and granddaughter Evie Tsui, 2, next to a boat filled with fruit at the UVSA Tet Festival at Garden Grove Park in Garden Grove on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Dressed in traditional Vietnamese dress participants take the stage as part of the Raising of the Bamboo ceremony at the UVSA Tet Festival at Garden Grove Park in Garden Grove on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. The annual Tet festival was started in 1980 by the Union of Vietnamese Student Associations. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Lion dancers make their way through the Cultural Village during the UVSA Tet Festival at Garden Grove Park in Garden Grove on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. The annual Tet festival was started in 1980 by the Union of Vietnamese Student Associations. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Contestants for the Miss Vietnam of Southern California pose for a group photo to post on social media at the UVSA Tet Festival at Garden Grove Park in Garden Grove on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Kristilynn Tugado, 14, left, and sister Kaylie, 9, pose for a photo in a boat during the UVSA Tet Festival at Garden Grove Park in Garden Grove on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. The annual Tet festival was started in 1980 by the Union of Vietnamese Student Associations. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Khang Tran, left, of An Dong restaurant hands a man a plate of sticky rice during the UVSA Tet Festival at Garden Grove Park in Garden Grove on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Kiara Bentley, 19, of Garden Grove poses for a photo with lanterns at the UVSA Tet Festival at Garden Grove Park in Garden Grove on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. The annual Tet festival was started in 1980 by the Union of Vietnamese Student Associations. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
People attending the first night of at the UVSA Tet Festival at Garden Grove Park in Garden Grove on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025 line up at the multiple food vendors. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Dylan Tran, left, is joined by his friends as they cheer for Tran’s girlfriend, Kathy Nguyen, a contestant in the Miss Vietnam of Southern California at the UVSA Tet Festival at Garden Grove Park in Garden Grove on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Kathy Nguyen takes the stage as she competes in the Miss Vietnam of Southern California at the UVSA Tet Festival at Garden Grove Park in Garden Grove on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. The annual Tet festival was started in 1980 by the Union of Vietnamese Student Associations. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Shadows of visitors are seen on cloth drapes as people begin to arrive at the UVSA Tet Festival at Garden Grove Park in Garden Grove on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. The annual Tet festival was started in 1980 by the Union of Vietnamese Student Associations. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Contestants in the Miss Vietnam of Southern California, from left, Christine Do, Venus Dao and Annie Lam ham it up for a social media photo during the UVSA Tet Festival at Garden Grove Park in Garden Grove on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
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Hoa Nguyen, top, poses for a photo with daughter Maryanne Tsui and granddaughter Evie Tsui, 2, next to a boat filled with fruit at the UVSA Tet Festival at Garden Grove Park in Garden Grove on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
For the last decade, the three-day celebration moved to the county fairgrounds, which MaiLy Tran, this year’s event chair, said was great to work with, but it wasn’t home.
The Costa Mesa fairgrounds were far for many of the older members of the community to travel to, many of whom can walk to Garden Grove Park, she said. “We are hoping to stay there.”
The festival kicked off Friday evening and continues through Sunday.
The days will be filled with cultural performances, entertainment, Vietnamese food, contests and more. The Cultural Village will again offer a replica of a traditional village in Vietnam and share with visitors the life and architecture of a rural community.
The festival is an annual celebration welcoming the new year, but in 2025, it will also be a remembrance of what was lost – but also born, Tran said.
This April will mark the 50th anniversary of the Fall of Saigon, refugees fleeing the country, leaving behind their lives and loved ones. Many ultimately moved to Westminster, and 50 years later the Little Saigon they built is a vibrant community and the largest concentration of Vietnamese outside of Vietnam.
“Our theme is a spring of remembrances,” Tran said of the festival that is “both celebrating and commemorating.”
If you go
When: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Feb. 1 and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Feb. 2
Where: Garden Grove Park, 9301 Westminster Blvd., Garden Grove; parking is available at Bolsa Grande High, Anderson Elementary and Thuan Phat Supermarket, and see online for locations for a free shuttle
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