In the capital for expatriate Vietnamese, edginess grows about Tet party

Squeezed into Cho Cu, awaiting orders of crunchy baguettes filled with fragrant lemongrass chicken and garlic pork, the sandwich shop customers talked — more than a bit nervously — about Little Saigon’s Tet Festival and just who owes whom.

The troubles began a couple years ago, when the group that had been organizing the annual Lunar New Year celebration in Garden Grove had to move it to Costa Mesa amid a contract dispute with the city. Then in May, the Union of Vietnamese Student Assns. of Southern California accused its president and treasurer of embezzling more than $100,000, prompting police to open an investigation.

Now it seems that the nonprofit Vietnamese Community of Southern California, which had stepped in to host an alternative Tet Festival in Little Saigon, is $27,000 in debt to Garden Grove. Unless the bill is paid and the nonprofit completes an audit, the 2016 celebration might not happen.

“You know, I worry that talking about money like this will bring bad luck to our community. These are negative words — debt, cancellation,” said Helen Truong, 36, who takes her parents to the festival every year. “We have to move toward the holiday with good spirits. We shouldn’t be gossiping about people’s finances.”

The situation has many in Little Saigon debating the importance of holiday tradition and the imperative of maintaining social mores.

“This is so confusing, with everyone trying to outdo each other,” Cathy Lam of Newport Beach said of the competing celebrations. She makes a point of telling her non-Vietnamese friends about the celebration as a way of introducing them to Asian culture. “A festival makes sense to increase tourism,” she added. “Why not have one event and recruit the Latino and mainstream communities to celebrate with us?”

Thao Hoang, a nursing student from Anaheim, said that the dispute over money “gives me a headache.”

“It also makes me worried that it could harm our reputation about keeping our promises,” she said. “We have a lot of honest, hardworking families who love to go to the festivals to carry on our customs. But is it worth the price when it turns into a soap opera, like on TV?”

The deadline to submit a proposal to host the February 2016 Tet Festival is Thursday. According to Kim Huy, Garden Grove’s director of community services, the only applicant so far is the Vietnamese Community of Southern California, the same group that still owes money for police and security services.

“If there are other groups out there with a passion for service and a commitment to success, join us,” Garden Grove Mayor Bao Nguyen said recently. “I know a lot of the older folks want the festival to stay in Little Saigon because of their mobility. I get that. But we also need to care for our city.”

Chris Phan, who serves on the City Council with Nguyen, said: “As a Vietnamese, it pains me to end this tradition. But we can’t take on another partner who’s not responsible.”

Many who said they attend the festival each year are upset that Vietnam’s biggest holiday might be ignored in the capital for expatriate Vietnamese.

“They should have it every year for the community’s sake. It’s not just fun and food. I like the useful services — they offer health checks to seniors, they talk to us about our medical needs,” Thiet Vo of Westminster said. “Why go away?”

“It’s fun, with children singing, with scenes just like when I was younger,” said his wife, Kinh Thi Pham. “I wonder if we will go again.”

anh.do@latimes.com

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