“Chúc mừng năm mới!” Or, wish happy year new (as my friend translated to me). This past week Mira Mesa hosted its annual Tết festival, a huge festival originating in Vietnam for The Lunar New Year. My friend participated in the Miss Vietnam pageant, and because my last article was about New Year’s, I wanted to follow the same vein and talk about my experience at the festival and the pageant itself. 

First of all, it was on the smaller side. I hear that Tết in Orange County is huge because there is a higher Vietnamese population there, but even though it was small, I found there were a good bit of activities to do. It reminded me of a small county fair, the abnormally cold night bringing back memories of fall festivals in October where your nose burns from the cold, but you don’t want to leave just yet. I got there a little later in the night so I didn’t ride any of the rides, but they seemed pretty standard — a tilt-a-whirl, a swing one, and a carousel. There were a handful of games as well, but again, I was honestly just making sure I could secure a good place for the pageant, and unfortunately, there was no balloon pop (I have a mean aim at balloon pop — but ring toss, not so much). 

They might have only had a small selection of rides and games, but they really shined with the food. There were so many stalls that it was kind of overwhelming. My constraints were time and funds, which narrowed it down a little bit. I got Bulgogi-loaded fries, but only after debating if I should get a Korean corn dog, teriyaki on a stick, or ribbon potatoes (I feel like stick food is essential, okay?). The fries were perfectly crispy and golden, and the meat was surprisingly well cooked — I say surprisingly because I don’t expect ribeye bulgogi at a festival stall to taste like I got it fresh out of the kitchen. They were lean cuts of meat and not chewy at all. They also put this special sauce over it — I couldn’t tell you the name, but it reminded me a little of yum-yum sauce with maybe a little more of a chili taste. Either way, I was definitely satisfied with the food, and my only qualm is that I wasn’t able to try more.

Before the pageant, they had the legendary lion dance by a local lion dancing team. With multiple different dances and storylines, there was something for everyone. The most impressive one to me was this one where instead of the dancer performing on the stage, they danced on metal poles only wide enough to support their hands and feet. As they moved back and forth on all fours along with just their hind legs, I found myself in awe. It looked so natural, and when  the head of a dragon suit can weigh upwards of 40 pounds, it’s hard to not be impressed. Again, because I was late, I didn’t get to see the whole dance. However, I saw the finale where they brought four dragons on stage that dissipated a little into the crowd before the lights cut off and they left the area, almost as if they were never there to begin with. 

By this point, I found a pretty good seat a few rows back from the stage, and the crowd was growing with anticipation by the second. The two emcees came out after about five minutes, and then suddenly we were all in the swing of things. To start the pageant, all of the 10 finalists danced to a song wearing the same áo dài. They each introduced themselves with either a fun fact about themselves, why they wanted to compete in the pageant, or what they would hope to change if they were crowned. During each break, there was a singing act. Vietnamese artists Loan Châu and Lương Tùng Quang each performed twice. While I wasn’t familiar with their music, the rhythm and musical instruments used dated the songs to around the 90s and the 2000s. Loan Châu’s music in particular felt like it had a bit of Latinx influence, with the rhythm of the drums and the tempo of the string instruments, while Lương Tùng Quang was definitely the Justin Timberlake of his era. It was actually sweet because you could tell the older generations must have listened to them a lot, so I can just imagine how it felt to see them live in action.

One of the cool things about the festival was that they were very intentional with making sure everyone was included. They spoke in both Vietnamese and English, sometimes translating and sometimes not. There were times I didn’t really know what they were saying, but it was one of those situations where you could tell by their expressions, the way they would pause or the crowd would acknowledge them in a certain way, that made it feel like I could still understand them. It wasn’t just the people who hosted it that were inclusive, I openly chatted with the people around me. They asked if I understood what was being said. When I said no, they would help. When cheering for my friend, they would join in or compliment her, and I would do the same for the contestant they knew. It felt very communal, and sometimes emotional because you could  really feel how strong their pride was for their culture and community. I teared up at some of the contestants’ responses, and one that stuck with me was actually said by the girl who won the pageant. She was asked what makes Vietnamese and Vietnamese Americans different, and how those two cultures could come together, and her story was really moving. She talked about the fall of Saigon, and her parents immigrating to a foreign country for refuge where they didn’t know the language, the customs, or anyone here but themselves. How she was raised to feel pride in her culture, and how that differentiates the two; because of her parents’ sacrifice, she is able to have many privileges she might have not had in Vietnam, yet she was still able to feel pride for her people.

This was my first time going to Tết, and while I had expected to not be fully immersed in the experience, whether due to language and cultural barriers or not going with anyone besides my friend who was practicing for the pageant, I left feeling embraced and even more interested in the rich Vietnamese culture. While you will have to wait a whole other year to be able to go, I recommend seeing if Tết is hosted in your area when the time comes. And with that, I leave with this: even though I felt like I was slowly becoming an iceberg with the cold night air, it was the warmth of celebrating with loved ones, hearing the cheering fans of each contestant, and the smell of street food that made it all worthwhile.

An khang thịnh vượng!

Photo by Nam Le from Pexels: https://www.pexels.com/photo/lion-dance-show-10959540/