HISTORY OF US, ESTABLISHED IN 2023
Our origin story begins with Asian refugees and immigrants forming communities in the United States, through shared cultural practices of celebrating the Lunar New Year.
2025, the year of the Wood Snake, marks the milestone 50th anniversary of the mass exodus and early resettlement of refugees displaced from their homes in Southeast Asia after the Fall of Saigon. Upon their arrival, refugees organized to preserve their history and traditions as they built families and communities. We, their descendants, continue to honor this practice of organizing an annual festival to remember, recreate, and retain this storied heritage in our adopted homeland in the County of Santa Clara and the City of San José.
Lunar New Year: San José (LNY: SJ), est. 2023, aims to bridge past and present generations through creativity, culture, and collaboration. LNY: SJ 2025 is hosted by the Vietnamese American Roundtable (VAR) in partnership and collaboration with the United Vietnamese Student Association of Northern California (NorCal UVSA). The festival will be hosted in the heart of Little Saigon, San José at the Grand Century Shopping Mall on Saturday, January 25th and Sunday, January 26th from 12:00 pm to 8:00 pm each day.
Our first annual LNY:SJ in 2025 builds on the success of our Inaugural festival in 2024. Inspired by decades of cultural celebrations in the Bay Area, with generous support from our sponsors and donors, LNYSJ: 2024 brought over 5000 attendees, 90+ vendors and exhibitors, 450+ student and community volunteers together at History Park for one day of festivities -- before we made the decision to cancel the second day due to hazardous weather. We hope you consider supporting our culturally-oriented and youth-driven second year “Bridging Generations” as a part of this historical moment for our community, where we expect to celebrate the Lunar New Year with over 30,000 attendees, 100+ vendors, and 500 student and community volunteers.
INSTAGRAM | @LNYSANJOSE
FACEBOOK PAGE | LUNAR NEW YEAR: SAN JOSE - BRIDGING GENERATIONS 2024
UNITED VIETNAMESE STUDENT ASSOCIATIONS,
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA (NorCal UVSA)
Northern California United Vietnamese Student Associations, or NorCal UVSA is a 501(3)(c), non-partisan, non-profit organization with a mission to be a community-based organization as a means for youth to organize socially and civically in Northern California. Established in 2006, our vision is to create a community of high school students, college students and young professionals that has a respected voice in the broader Vietnamese and Vietnamese-American communities.
In line with NorCal UVSA’s mission, NorCal hosts three flagship events every school year: Summit, Olympics, and Camp. These events are geared towards empowering young individuals to become leaders in their communities, as well as creating a welcoming community for like-minded individuals.
NorCal UVSA is a group of Vietnamese Student Associations across Northern California that serves Vietnamese and Vietnamese American students and communities at the following schools: De Anza College, Stanford University, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Merced, UC Santa Cruz, University of Pacific, University of San Francisco, Sacramento State, San Francisco State University, San Jose State University and Santa Clara University. Each year, The eleven partnering universities work to support NorCal UVSA's missions and goals throughout the year by supporting our events and programs that are hosted throughout the year. Through our joint efforts in supporting one another, we are able to form a strong united community that uplifts everyone.
INSTAGRAM | @NORCALUVSA
FACEBOOK PAGE | UVSA NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
WEBSITE | NORCALUVSA.ORG
YOUTUBE | NORCAL UVSA
VIETNAMESE AMERICAN ROUNDTABLE (VAR)
VAR envisions a strong and unified Vietnamese American community that works towards improving the quality of life for all. VAR’s mission is to organize, advocate, and educate our community. We accomplish this through mobilization, coalition building, and meaningful workshops and cultural events.
As Vietnamese Americans spanning different generations and backgrounds, our programming is intentionally inclusive to bridge first and second generation Vietnamese constituencies. We work collaboratively to research and develop programs focused on Community Building, Civic Engagement, and Cultural Learning that support the local community.
INSTAGRAM | @VAROUNDTABLE
FACEBOOK PAGE | VIETNAMESE AMERICAN ROUNDTABLE
WEBSITE | VAROUNDTABLE.ORG
