Fountain Valley might host Orange County Tet Festival; decision due Feb. 2

The Fountain Valley City Council on Tuesday discussed whether to allow the Orange County Tet Festival, a longtime cultural staple, to take place in Mile Square Regional Park this year.

The council will be presented with a memorandum of understanding on Feb. 2, when it will decide on the festival’s future in Fountain Valley.

The proposed festival would feature carnival rides, Vietnamese musical performances and beauty pageants. The event would also have more than 100 booths from local businesses and more than 40 Vietnamese and Latin food vendors. There would be a large soccer tournament with local adult teams from around the city as well.

The Tet Festival has been a widely acclaimed fixture in Orange County for more than 30 years. However, this would be the first time that the event was held in Fountain Valley.

The council had its doubts about a festival that is estimated to entertain about 100,000 people over a weekend — nearly three times as big as Summerfest, Fountain Valley’s largest event.

“I have a major concern about the residential areas and parking,” said Councilman John Collins. “I assume that we must have signs up so that only homeowners can park there. We will cite [others] if they park there.”

One resident questioned the city’s ability to offer such a large event on such short notice. If the council approves the O.C. Tet Festival, it would take place at Mile Square Regional Park from Feb. 12 to 14.

“The attendance will be huge,” said Fountain Valley resident Kim Constantine. “I truly hope that the event goes well, but I think it’s too soon.”

Collins also expressed concerns about the city taking on financial risk. The city does not want to be held liable for any expenses that it won’t be compensated for down the road.

The applicant and organizer of the festival, the Vietnamese Community of Southern California (VNCSC), owes Garden Grove $27,000 for holding the Tet festival in 2015. Due in large part to this debt, the festival was banned from the city, marking the first time the event has not taken place in Little Saigon in more than 30 years.

The council has received assurances that all expenses shouldered by the city would be repaid by the VNCSC. However, the organizer hasn’t resolved its issue with Garden Grove.

“That issue is still being worked on between them [Vietnamese Community of Southern California] and Garden Grove,” said Tuan Nguyen, the chairman of the O.C. Tet Festival. “It has not been resolved yet.”