This past weekend, the Vietnamese Catholic Church of Orlando, St Philip Phan van minh hosted their annual Vietnamese New Year Festival at the Central Florida Fairgrounds for 2015 – the year of the goat/sheep. The actual Lunar New Year is not till Thursday February 19th this year so there are still lots of great events to come. (See Guide to Celebrating Chinese/Vietnamese New Year Festivals in Orlando Post for the lowdown).
Here are 39 photos showing why the Vietnamese New Year Festival rocks:
Entrance to the Festival – here, a recreation of the famous Cho Ben Thanh market in Saigon, VietnamThe festival is fun for the entire family – here in the background, a recreation of Cho Ben Thanh Market in Saigon, Vietnam
Church Festival Volunteers snap a quick photoInside the festival building – some families stay all day watching the shows, eating their way around the building hallsInside the festival buildingServing chao long, rice porridge with offalChao long, rice porridge with offalGoi cuon, summer rollsBun rieu, a seafood crab and pork noodle soupCurry goat and sauteed boarBun Bo Hue Spicy Beef Noodle soupA Vietnamese Catholic boy scout buys some banh tieuBanh tieu, Vietnamese hollowed donut fry bread topped with sesame seedsGrinding sugarcane to make fresh sugarcane juiceHu Tieu Mi, a pork and chicken noodle soup topped with hard boiled quail eggsSteaming pots of bun rieu pork and crab noodle soupRolls of banh tet, kind of like Christmas yuletide logs, but with sticky rice and beans to celebrate the new yearLion dancers scare away evil spirits and welcome in the new yearScenes from the street food
Hot Vit Lon – the fearsome Duck fetus eggsSauteed goatScenes from the street foodScenes from the street foodFried Eggrolls and pork sausage meatballs on a stickScenes from the street foodBanh Cuon rice crepesScenes from the street foodBun thit nuongBanh Xeo Vietnamese pan cakesCarnival games and things for kids areaPew pew – Carnival games and things for kids areaBounce area
Orchids for saleThese Vietnamese ladies are getting ready for a cultural performance on stagePearl White Events, a local wedding planning business, markets their servicesState Farm Insurance is a sponsor, tooMai tree, the symbol of spring for the Vietnamese
