The Year of the Dragon will be celebrated with the 19th annual San Diego Tết Festival in Mira Mesa from Friday, Feb. 16 to Saturday, Feb. 18 — attracting more than 30,000 attendees as the largest Lunar New Year celebration in San Diego County. The Year of the Dragon is typically considered an auspicious year, but for Vietnamese people, it’s even more special. The Vietnamese people are the product of the marriage of Lạc Long Quân (The Dragon Lord of Lạc) and Âu Cơ, a mountain snow goddess. Vietnamese often considered themselves to be descendants of dragons and gods (con rồng cháu tiên), according to Vietnamese myths. “It’s important that we connect our youth to their culture,” said Dennis Duong, president of the Vietnamese American Youth Alliance, which organizes the festival. “This is, at the core, what the festival is about — connecting with our roots and preserving the culture.” The three-day festival features lion dances, a Cultural Village, the Miss Vietnam Pageant, and Vietnamese food, music and vendors. Following the Heavenly Stems (Thiên Can) counting system, this year’s stem is Giáp in combination with Green, Yang, Wood, and East, which means this year is the Eastern Green Wood Dragon. Festival hours are 5 p.m. – 10 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m. – 10 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. – 9 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free.
