Despite concerns, Fountain Valley will host OC Tet Festival

Fountain Valley will host the OC Tet Festival, a cultural fixture in Orange County that has been held in Little Saigon for about three decades.

The Fountain Valley City Council on Tuesday was set to take a vote on the proposed festival, but a change in the estimated attendance resolved the issue.

Initially, the county had presented the council with a projected number of up to 100,00 attendees for the festival, which will take place from Feb. 12 to 14 at Mile Square Park. This concerned city officials because of the possibility of exceeding county limits allowing for only 15,000 attendees a day in the regional county park.

However, the council received a second letter on Jan. 29 explaining that the more realistic projection is 50,000 people. Because of this reduction in anticipated overall attendance, the council was not required to vote because the estimate is in accordance with the current agreement between the city and the county.

“I think it is a marketing number,” said Tuan Nguyen, chairman of the OC Tet Festival. “What we put in writing is 50,000. In our experience, it is an open space so people will come in and out, and we will space out the entertainment to mitigate the flow of attendance.”

Parking is a major concern for residents and local businesses. Police Chief Dan Llorens explained that his department will attempt to control parking by providing residents with parking permits and ticketing individuals without authorization.

City Manager Bob Hall clarified that the city has spoken with local business owners, and they are aware that they have the ability to initiate the towing of cars that are parked too long in front of their stores.

Despite Nguyen’s assurances regarding the revised projected attendance, some residents were not convinced that the city is prepared for an event of this magnitude.

“It sounds like we are trying to drink water through a fire hose,” said resident Patrick Tucker. “Businesses will be impacted. I don’t know how we can take it from 100,000 to 50,000. I am concerned it will be that 100,000.”

Kim Constantine echoed Tucker’s concerns.

“There is too much uncertainty with this,” said the Fountain Valley resident. “I am hopeful for a peaceful event, but we must have a Plan B with contingencies.”

City officials expressed concern that the city could be at financial risk. The applicant and organizer of the festival, the Vietnamese Community of Southern California, owes Garden Grove $27,000 for holding the Tet festival there in 2015. The festival was banned from the city in large part because of this debt, marking the first time the event has not taken place in Little Saigon in 30 years.

The Vietnamese group has given Fountain Valley an $80,000 deposit, an amount that exceeds expected costs, to cover support services and other expenses for the event.

The festival will feature carnival rides, Vietnamese musical performances, fireworks and beauty pageants. More than 100 booths will be run by local businesses and more than 40 by Vietnamese and Latin food vendors. A large soccer tournament involving local adult teams from around the city will also be held as part of the festivities.

Admission to the festival is free.