Asian Fortune Your source for all things Asian American
By Corih Kim
The 2014 Annual VietFest took place at the Workhouse Art Center in Lorton, Virginia between August 16-17, 2014. Started in 2011 by five young Vietnamese-Americans, the event has become brighter and bigger than ever before, as the Vietnamese-Americans continue to spread their rich heritage throughout their community in vibrant ways.
Led by the National Organization of Vietnamese American Leader of Greater Washington (NOVAL-DC), this event provided a venue for Vietnamese-American families to have fun and unwind, but also to allow other communities to mingle in a family friendly environment before the start of the new school year.
At the event, Stacey Kincaid (Fairfax County Sheriff), Delegate Mark Keam (VA-D, 35th District), Grace Han-Wolf (Herndon Council), and Edward Chow (Maryland Department of Veterans Affairs) gave congratulatory remarks, celebrating the Vietnamese-Americans’ resilient spirit of the “Boat people” and their descendants. Mr. Chow congratulated the Vietnamese-Americans’ for their success, as the earlier generation suffered much to survive in a new culture, but the efforts of both the past and present generations have led to prominence of Asian-American leadership in every field, such as leadership in military, education, politics, medical affairs, and business ownership.
VietFest also included a ton of fun competitions like the Pho noodle competition, chess games, The “Wheel of Fortune” sponsored by Maryland ‘Live!’ Casino, DC Crawfish Eating Championship, Miss VietFest Pageant (Biggest in the East Coast), Mister VietFest, Lanterns by Night, the Lion Dance (Symbolizing hope to bring luck), and the Wedding Parade among many. One of the highlights were the drawing of the raffle ticket for a new 2014 Honda Civic.
2015 will mark the 40th Year Anniversary of the Vietnam War and the arrival of the “Boat people” into the United States. The Festival committee plans to make next year’s celebration even bigger than the one this year.
