UVSA Tet Festival
The largest student-run Vietnamese lunar new year festival in the United States
Based on lunar cycles, the Vietnamese holiday Tet – the lunar new year – is celebrated on different days each year between January 21 and February 20. For over four decades, the Union of Vietnamese Student Associations of Southern California (UVSA) has celebrated Tet in Orange County, originally in Garden Grove before moving to Costa Mesa’s OC Fair & Event Center in 2013. Now, there’s a smaller, free Tet festival in a Garden Grove park, as well as this one, with paid tickets and paid parking.
As the largest student-run Tet festival in the nation, this event hosts tons of eye-catching Vietnamese cultural booths alongside food stands similar to the array at 626 Night Market OC. Even if you’re not attending for the significant live entertainment, shopping, and social components of the festival, you can find street foods such as coconut waffles and grilled meat sticks here without having to wait for the Little Saigon Night Market to kick off in the summer.
Our visit to this Tet festival wasn’t totally thrilling. While we found a handful of interesting Vietnamese items to sample – and enjoyed them – they were outnumbered by Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and fusion fair foods, many of which were forgettable and expensive. That said, the vendor selection will vary from year to year, and depending on what you’re looking for and your budget, you may be more satisfied than we were.
We’d recommend attending this festival first and foremost for the richness of the cultural programming. If that’s why you’re here, you’ll be at least fine if not pleased with the culinary options.
Stats
Price: $$
Service: Counter
Open Since: 1982
Addresses
OC Fair & Event Center
88 Fair Dr.
Costa Mesa, CA 92686
949.273.3597
Instagram: @tetfest