Judge Refuses to Block Tet Festival in Little Saigon

Much to the disappointment of some merchants in Little Saigon, the Tet Festival in Westminster will be held this weekend as planned now that a Superior Court judge has refused to block it.

Judge William F. McDonald declined Wednesday to issue an injunction to keep the festivities celebrating the Vietnamese New Year from being held on Bolsa Avenue.

Merchants had sought to bar the festival from the street, Little Saigon’s main thoroughfare, in fear it would hamper their business. The street will be closed for three days beginning Friday.

McDonald’s decision came as no surprise either to the city or the merchants themselves, since he had issued a similar ruling two weeks ago. He delayed a final judgment until Wednesday to give city officials and the merchants another chance to make their cases.

“I couldn’t believe that anyone would prevent this festival from going on,” Westminster Mayor Charles V. Smith said Wednesday. “This is going to be the biggest and best festival that’s going to be put on in this county.”

The merchants said they are poised to file another lawsuit when the festival ends, seeking compensation for lost income as a result of the street closure.

“This is just the first round,” said Van Thai Tran, a lawyer representing the merchants.

Many in the Vietnamese American community have expressed their concerns that this year’s celebration of the Year of the Mouse hasn’t started out on an auspicious footing.

Besides the merchants’ conflict with the city, there have been angry exchanges between organizers of the Westminster Tet celebration and those from the Vietnamese American Community of Southern California, a nonprofit group that is hosting Tet festivities in Garden Grove this weekend.

A number of fires were deliberately set--one at the business of Westminster Councilman Tony Lam--in the past two weeks, prompting Westminster officials to suggest they were the work of people opposed to the Bolsa festival. The investigation is continuing.