by Ronnie Estoque
On Saturday, Jan. 14, local community members gathered at the Little Saigon Creative to celebrate the Vietnamese Lunar New Year (Tết). The event was organized by Friends of Little Sài Gòn, an organization focused on centering Vietnamese culture and advocacy in the community. Mak Fai Kung Fu performed a lion dance and was followed up by a workshop where event attendees learned how to make bánh tét — a traditional Vietnamese Lunar New Year dish made with glutinous rice, mung beans, and pork wrapped in banana leaves. The workshop was led by instruction from Yenvy Pham, co-owner of Hello Em Cafe & Roastery and owner of Phở Bắc Restaurants; Trinh Nguyen, owner of Ba Sa Restaurant; and Theresa Cat Vu, founder and owner of Phở Bắc Restaurants.
The following day, the celebration continued at the Little Saigon Creative with an all-day Lunar New Year Marketplace that featured festive-themed items as well as folk melodies played on traditional Vietnamese instruments by the Hướng Việt Performing Arts Group.
Ronnie Estoque is a South Seattle-based freelance photographer and videographer. You can keep up with his work by checking out his website.
📸 Featured Image: The Little Saigon Creative was full of event attendees that showed up for the various programming organized by Friends of Little Saigon. (Photo: Ronnie Estoque)
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