Hai My Luong and Alex Buttar were among thousands who attended the Vietnamese Tet Festival at Sandown Racecourse last weekend. Picture: Meagan Rogers.By Kelly Yates
SANDOWN Racecourse attracted tens of thousands of people last weekend for the Vietnamese Tet, or lunar new year, festival.
The three-day event from 8 to 10 February commemorated the Mau Than, or Year of the Monkey, Tet Offensive in 1968, considered to be the turning point of the Vietnam War.
Festival organiser Bon Nguyen said the official ceremony held on Saturday commemorated the 40-year anniversary of Tet Mau Than and the 300 people present paid their respects to those who lost their lives. The Premier’s representative James Merlino, Opposition leader Ted Baillieu and Greater Dandenong mayor John Kelly attended the 4pm ceremony.
Mr Nguyen said he was expecting 40,000 people but believed the weather was a factor in the lower attendance on the opening day.
This year was the first in which the festival has run over three days. It has previously been held on a Saturday and Sunday.
“However, it rained Friday afternoon so I think that was one of the reasons we only had about 3000 people there,” Mr Nguyen said.
A fireworks display thrilled the crowd on the Friday and Sunday nights, and the festival included 44 food stalls showcasing Vietnamese culture, and 42 game stalls.
“The 15-minute fireworks display was fantastic, the grandstand was full,” Mr Nguyen said.
“We had so much food on offer – barbecue foods, pancakes and even Vietnamese sugar juice and fresh coconut juice.”
Eight Victorian bands performed at the festival, plus an overseas guest.
“Tran Thaihoa is very popular in America and did a fantastic job,” Mr Nguyen said.
He said he noticed a broader community present at this year’s festival.
“There were also a lot of Australian visitors at the festival, which is great, I’m happy when I see people enjoying themselves,” he said.
Springvale Police were present during the festival but no incidents were reported.
“We had a few people try to jump the fences but that’s all,” Mr Nguyen said.
He said this was an improvement after last year several people were found to be carrying weapons.
“We had metal detectors at the main gate and no weapons were detected,” Mr Nguyen said.
He said there would definitely be another Vietnamese Tet Festival, but the organisers would review whether to continue running the event over three days.
