Tampa Vietnamese Community Commemorate Tết During Lunar New Year Festival

“Tết makes us have a voice and a platform to really show people what Vietnamese Americans are actually like” ‘XUÂN QUÊ HƯƠNG 23’ welcomes guests as they take their first steps into the festival. Immediately you’re hit with the mouthwatering smell of fried egg rolls you’ve overheard other guest from the parking raving about. Lines of vendors are camped besides their tents, bundled tightly in their coats using pocket warmers to fight the cool evening January breeze every Floridan dreads. A lady selling the traditional Vietnamese dresses ao dai catches the eye. You can’t help but to be fascinated by the beautiful silk material and soft colors. All attention wavers as the sounds of drums and claps erupt. The thunderous audience of hundreds cheer the drummer boys dressed in black. Looking around there are elders proudly recording on their phones while young kids try to climb to get a peak at the show. Shortly after, the dragons come out to dance and the fireworks are lit. This is an experience so new yet familiar in a ton of ways. This is Tết. <a href="https://medium.com/@brown29/tampa-vietnamese-community-commemorate-t%E1%BA%BFt-during-lunar-new-year-festival-82396d9f4c96">Click Here</a>