Little Saigon San Diego hosted a free festival to celebrate Lunar New Year in City Heights over the weekend of Jan. 20-22. This year was significant because it also marked the groundbreaking of the Boat People Garden, a community mini park to be built a block from the festival site at Jeremy Henwood Park with funds from past festivals.
While many Asian cultures celebrate the Year of the Rabbit in 2023, among Little Saigon’s Vietnamese and Gurung population, it is actually the Year of the Cat.
Unfortunately, the mass shooting in Los Angeles that left 11 dead at a Lunar New Year dance overshadowed the final day of the festival.
“The violence must stop. Right now we feel as though we can’t even celebrate with our families and loved ones without fear,” said Justin Zhu, co-founder of Stand with Asian Americans.
The local SD API coalition released a statement saying, “We stand united with our community and our right to celebrate our holidays and culture without fear. We encourage Asian and Pacific Islander community members to continue to celebrate one of our most important holidays. We call on our region’s leaders and San Diegans to celebrate, uplift, and stand united with the Asian and Pacific Islander community.”
