• Mailing List: http://groups.google.com/group/moonfestival

2011 Calendar

• ? Children’s Moon Festival, VYDC Center, San Francisco
• ? Mid-Autumn Festival, Orchard Middle School, San Jose
• 9/3 Autumn Moon Festival, Sunset District, San Francisco
• 9/10 Autumn Festival Health Fair, Vietnamese American Cultural Center, San Jose
• 9/10 Moon Festival Tết Trung Thu, Independence High School, San Jose
• 9/10 Moon Festival, Emma Prusch Farm, San Jose
• 9/10 Moon Festival, Laney College, Oakland
• 9/10-9/11 Autumn Moon Festival, Chinatown, San Francisco
• 9/10-9/11 Moon Festival of Silicon Valley, Orchard Farms Shopping Center, San Jose
• 9/26 Chinese Moon Festival, Overfelt Gardens, San Jose

Background

by bảo.thiên.ngô

Tết Trung Thu, literally Mid-Autumn Festival, is one of the most important holidays within the Vietnamese culture, celebrated around the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar, during which time the moon is full and round. Although the event is similar to the Zhongqiu Jie of China, Chuseok of Korea, and Chushu no Meigetsu of Japan, we shall first explore the Vietnamese holiday with a description written by Barbara Cohen, author of The Vietnam Guidebook, on the origin of Tết Trung Thu:

The meaning of the Mid-Autumn Festival has been transformed over time. Originally it was not specifically for children. The Vietnamese people believe that only when one is innocent and pure can they get close to the natural and sacred world. So by becoming like children, they can acquire attributes of the gods.

Nguyễn Văn Huy, the Director of the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology and General Secretary of the Vietnam Ethnology Association, writes an article within Vietnam: Journeys of body, mind, and spirit that the ancient Vietnamese used this occasion to pray to the dragon god for the rain that provided a bountiful harvest. The prayers extended to all things part of the life cycle: crops, babies, animals, etc. In time the prayers for children turned into a celebration of children, where we get a more modern notion of the festival.

The United Vietnamese Student Associations of Northern California (UVSA) held a Summit at the University of California at Davis in mid-October 2008, during which a group of delegates from various schools across Northern California discussed the festival as it is today, bringing up the issue that the festival did not sufficiently cater to the teens and tweens of the youth, stating that "the event currently is for children and grandparents, but [they] wish to attract youths and students to the event as well."

On June 20, 2009, a small group of youths convened again to discuss the nature of youth involvement in this festival. Their interest in this festival would provide the initial objectives for youth being involved in this festival:

• To network with others and help build a sense of community solidarity and identity.
• To make Vietnamese community and culture accessible and appealing to all age groups, as well as the mainstream which would allow individuals to highlight something about their Vietnamese heritage to non-Vietnamese friends.
• To strengthen the capacity of youths to mobilize their youth peers and the community at large, and address the generation gap and leadership transition problems.
• To bring visibility to the voices of youths for the things they care about, and to address their concerns and needs of the community via social work, charity, and volunteerism.
• To appreciate the culture, food, music, tradition, literature, and heritage [of the Vietnamese community], and to add to their cultural identity by bringing in fresh ideas such that the festival will continue to maintain a cohesive community.

In short, the objectives of the festival can be summed up in four words: Community, Culture, Leadership, and Voice. These are the same general objectives listed within UVSA's Mission Statement: (1) Uniting students from different colleges and high schools to build solidarity in Vietnamese youth culture locally, nationally, and internationally; (2) Representing the diverse and dynamic Vietnamese youth population by encouraging interaction, participation, and activism in the Vietnamese American and mainstream communities; (3) Promoting public awareness of the Vietnamese culture, language, and history to encourage the growth of individuals and to bridge communities; and (4) Encouraging the growth of leadership and teamwork with a commitment to community service.

In that sense, in order to preserve the ancient values of Tết Trung Thu, the proposal of UVSA is to transform the modern practice of Tết Trung Thu into a neotraditional one, i.e. a reinterpretation of the more ancient practice: Tết Trung Thu is not just a celebration for children, but rather a celebration of the fresh, creative vitality of youth. Robert Kennedy says that "This world demands the qualities of youth: not a time of life but a state of mind, a temper of the will, a quality of imagination, a predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the life of ease." It is by celebrating Tết Trung Thu that people of all ages can return to the youthful state of mind.

Tết Trung 2.0 Kickoff Meeting

The following sections are a recap of the June 20, 2009 meeting of youths. Later amendments are to be highlighted as such.

What is Tết Trung Thu 1.0?

• Many of us remembered Tết Trung Thu when it was big during our adolescent years.
• Tết Trung Thu used to be held in Discovery Meadows (capacity 26,000) in San Jose. Now it is held at Cesar Chavez Park (capacity 8,000). This is an indication that the size of the festival is shrinking over the years.
• Our memories of Tết Trung Thu included volunteering, meeting other young people, and decorative elements such as lanterns and balloons.
• Over the years, as we (the second generation) got older, members of our generation stopped attending the festival.
• Currently the festival is geared towards young children between the ages of 4 and 12 with arts, crafts, a small lantern procession, and children stage performances; the festival is also geared towards parents/guardians of those children with evening performances. There is little, if anything, geared towards high school and college students.
• Another group currently organizes a mini-festival for high school students that encourages participation in field activities, the production of a student competition show, and individual leadership development. 
  

Why did we convene at this meeting?

• To network with others and help build a sense of community solidarity and identity.
• To make Vietnamese community and culture accessible and appealing to all age groups, as well as the mainstream which would allow individuals to highlight something about their Vietnamese heritage to non-Vietnamese friends.
• To strengthen the capacity of youths to mobilize their youth peers and the community at large, and address the generation gap and leadership transition problems.
• To bring visibility to the voices of youths for the things they care about, and to address their concerns and needs of the community via social work, charity, and volunteerism.
• To appreciate the culture, food, music, tradition, literature, and heritage [of the Vietnamese community], and to add to their cultural identity by bringing in fresh ideas such that the festival will continue to maintain a cohesive community.

What should Tết Trung 2.0 encompass?

In addition to elements from Tết Trung Thu 1.0, including things that appeal to older adults, parents, and young children, something that appeals to the high school and college youths, in an integrated way, suggestions which would include:

• Electronic entertainment, including video games
• Fashion
• Shopping (media, apparel, crafts, etc.)
• Games for couples
• Food (Vietnamese food, desserts, and snacks)
• Music/concerts (indie, hip hop, alternative rock) and singing
• Dancing (dance performances a la America’s Best Dance Crew and partying)
• Parties & after parties; red carpet premiers
• Supporting a charitable cause(s)
• Social media, photography, interactive displays (art, design, media, technology); memorabilia
• Financial stability, surplus, and community donations
• High school students being able to look up to college students (mentoring and role modeling); youth leadership development
• Viable message that appeals to youth on the meaning of Tết Trung Thu. The current message that Tết Trung Thu is a children’s holiday is not sufficiently viable.
• Regional appeal such that youths from all over the state wants to come to the festival.

A completion of all the aforementioned suggestions will constitute Tết Trung 2.0 (TT2.0).

Milestones

• 1.1
• The aim of this milestone shall be to expand leadership capacity in order for the festival to grow in the future. A focus on youths is required in order to get buy-in. If necessary, we may organize our own event in the first year so that we can reach out to this age group.
• Another foundation needed for growth will be having financial stability. We will need to charge for admission (if need be) so that we are not completely susceptible to the risky reliance on sponsorships and donations.
• The size of the festival shall be small, in order to hammer out workable processes, protocols, and working rhythm. It is also more feasible for the currently small group of organizers. This is the year to learn as many mistakes possible and learn from it.
• The most likely candidate for programming will include music concert with bands, possibly a dance party, with food booths abound, and advocating a social cause (youth leadership development is a cause, isn’t it?).
• Secondary priorities, based on leadership capacity, is a way to incorporate electronic media and entertainment, and fashion.

Future Steps

• Establish exploratory committee to produce viable plans and help refine the milestone markers outlined in this document.
• Research and produce a message on the meaning of Tết Trung Thu to provide a framework or theme that unites all the elements of Tết Trung Thu.
• Keep this document amenable to the opinions of others who have an interest and passion for Tết Trung Thu.
• Organize a group to establish long-term goals and milestones between Tết Trung Thu 1.0 and TT2.0.