HISTORY OF US, ESTABLISHED IN 2023
Since Asian American refugees and immigrants began to adapt, settle, and form communities in the United States following years of turmoil, they have brought the shared cultural practice of celebrating the Lunar New Year. Community members, displaced from their original homes in an adopted homeland, organized gatherings between families and friends in proximity to retain, remember, and recreate the rich and vibrant atmosphere of the traditional holiday season in their neighborhoods. In the City of San José, home to one of the largest Asian American populations in the United States, community organizations and organizers have held a long standing tradition to host festivals that bring together members of the community for celebrations centered around families reuniting, connecting across generations, and a creating shared sense of cultural identity – locally and across the diaspora.
Nearly half a century since the first Vietnamese refugees resettled in San José, the Vietnamese American Roundtable (VAR), in partnership and collaboration with the United Vietnamese Student Associations of Northern California (NorCal UVSA) and The Museum of the Boat People & the Republic of Vietnam (Viet Museum) plan to host a youth-led and community-engaged Lunar New Year Festival at History Park at Kelley Park in East San Jose for 2024 to celebrate the Lunar New Year of the Dragon. This Lunar New Year Festival builds on the legacy of the Viet Museum at History Park, the previous hosts of the festival—passing the torch to the youth; we continue to honor the traditions of the Tet Festival while exploring Lunar New Year traditions across cultural and ethnic boundaries in a conscious effort to be inclusive of the diverse cultural fabric of San José and the greater Bay Area.
We aim to bridge generations together and feature festivities and opportunities for cultural learning from communities celebrating the holiday – many of whom call San José home. In light of historical and contemporary divisiveness rooted in interracial and intergenerational tensions and trauma, we want to exhibit a shared sense of collective recovery and healing by establishing this expanded celebration.
INSTAGRAM | @LNYSANJOSE
FACEBOOK PAGE | LUNAR NEW YEAR: SAN JOSE - BRIDGING GENERATIONS 2024
UNITED VIETNAMESE STUDENT ASSOCIATIONS,
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA (NorCal UVSA)
Northern California United Vietnamese Student Associations, or NorCal UVSA is a 501(3)(c), non-partisan, non-profit organization with a mission to be a community-based organization as a means for youth to organize socially and civically in Northern California. Established in 2007, our vision is to create a community of high school students, college students and young professionals that has a respected voice in the broader Vietnamese and Vietnamese-American communities.
In line with NorCal UVSA’s mission, NorCal hosts three flagship events every school year: Summit, Olympics, and Camp. These events are geared towards empowering young individuals to become leaders in their communities, as well as creating a welcoming community for like-minded individuals.
NorCal UVSA is a group of Vietnamese Student Associations across Northern California that serves Vietnamese and Vietnamese American students and communities at the following schools: De Anza College, Stanford University, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Merced, UC Santa Cruz, University of Pacific, University of San Francisco, San Francisco State University, San Jose State University and Santa Clara University. Each year, The eleven partnering universities work to support NorCal UVSA's missions and goals throughout the year by supporting our events and programs that are hosted throughout the year. Through our joint efforts in supporting one another, we are able to form a strong united community that uplifts everyone.
INSTAGRAM | @NORCALUVSA
FACEBOOK PAGE | UVSA NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
WEBSITE | NORCALUVSA.ORG
YOUTUBE | NORCAL UVSA
VIETNAMESE AMERICAN ROUNDTABLE (VAR)
VAR envisions a strong and unified Vietnamese American community that works towards improving the quality of life for all. VAR’s mission is to organize, advocate, and educate our community. We accomplish this through mobilization, coalition building, and meaningful workshops and cultural events.
As Vietnamese Americans spanning different generations and backgrounds, our programming is intentionally inclusive to bridge first and second generation Vietnamese constituencies. We work collaboratively to research and develop programs focused on Community Building, Civic Engagement, and Cultural Learning that support the local community.
INSTAGRAM | @VAROUNDTABLE
FACEBOOK PAGE | VIETNAMESE AMERICAN ROUNDTABLE
WEBSITE | VAROUNDTABLE.ORG
VIET MUSEUM (VIỆN BẢO TÀNG VIỆT NAM)
The Viet Museum or Museum of the Boat People & the Republic of Vietnam is a museum focusing on the experience of Vietnamese Americans and their journey from Vietnam to the United States. It is located in Greenwalt House at History Park at Kelley Park in San Jose, California, United States, and was opened on August 25, 2007. The museum was created by the San Jose-based nonprofit organization IRCC (Immigrant Resettlement & Cultural Center, Inc.), headed by Vu Van Loc, a former colonel in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. Planning for the Museum began in 1976, taking over 30 years to realize.
The museum was established to display a valuable collection of artifacts, documents, and books related to the experiences of Vietnamese refugees, or “boat people,” and the former Republic of Vietnam. These were entrusted to the museum by donors from around the world.
The museum preserves these items and stories for future generations so that visitors will be able to recognize the humanity of the Vietnamese refugees who risked their lives in search of freedom after the fall of South Vietnam in April of 1975, and to appreciate the legacy of the Vietnamese diaspora.
The museum encourages visitors to reflect upon the sufferings and heroism of the Vietnam War, and it seeks to memorialize those who fought and died for freedom.
LOCATION
HISTORY PARK, 1650 SENTER ROAD, SAN JOSE CA 95122