A Festival at Heart.

The Tet Festival has always been a constant in my life. I fondly recall going out with my family each year as child: eating skewers of bo la lot that Mum hands me, spying festival rides I'd always be a little too scared to go on, and looking up in awe at the fireworks that filled the night sky. I remember the hustle and bustle of the crowds, hanging onto my parents’ hands as we slowly made our way through the stalls.

Years have gone by and while I might be at the festival as a volunteer rather than an attendee, Mum still finds a way to put a skewer in my hand if she spots me there. The tall rides still make my heart skip a beat every time I look at them, and the fireworks are still as magnificent and beautiful as I remember.

However, one thing has changed. 2020 marks the third year I have been on the planning team for the Tet Festival, working behind the scenes to help bring this festival into reality.

As the Decorations Lead, my goal is to make our theme of Pioneer come to life, evoking feelings of exploration and wonder. Our team has spent many hours combing through photos in our albums and on Instagram for inspiration far and wide. We want to curate the best of what we’ve experienced and go beyond that to create an unforgettable memory at this Tet Festival.

These past few months have been filled with planning and scrapping ideas almost as fast as we have been making them. We have been drawing plans and maps in scraps of paper, devising methods of displaying our decorations as well as making them. I find that every year brings a unique challenge in trying to deliver as much as possible on a modest budget with a small team.

It is nearing the end of December and we’re just starting to get into the thick of creating our decorations. I can’t give away too much just yet, but I promise it will be an experience worth capturing!

Lawrence Le

Decoration Lead TET 2020 Vietnamese Community of Australia - VIC Chapter