“BEHIND THE SCENES” BY LIEN NGUYEN – Fri Feb 4th, 2011 @ Northwest Middle School

Happy Lunar New Year 2011 Program

 

WELCOME TO TẾT

 

Happy Lunar New Year 2011

• WHEN: SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 6th, 2011

4th Day of the Lunar Calendar

• WHAT: Celebration The Year of The Cat 2011

• WHO:Open to public – FREE Admission

• WHERE: Opens 11am at

The NORTH WEST MIDDLE SCHOOL

1700 North Redwood Rd

SLC, UT 84116

Hosted by The Vietnamese Community Of Utah

ĐÔNG ĐẢO TÌNH NGUYỆN VIÊN TIẾP TAY CHUẨN BỊ CHO HỘI XUÂN TÂN MÃO CỦA CỘNG ĐỒNG NGƯỜI VIỆT TỰ DO UTAH

Lời kêu gọi của Ban Chấp Hành và cũng là Ban Tổ Chức Hội Xuân Tân Mão 2011 trên website và Facebook đã có hiệu quả rõ rệt.

Chiều tối qua, Thứ Sáu 4 tháng Hai, 2011, tại trường Trung cấp Northwest Middle School, nơi sẽ tổ chức Hội Xuân Tân Mão – trên 30 tình nguyện viên đủ mọi lứa tuổi, hoặc tới cùng bạn bè, hoặc đi cùng cha mẹ đã đến tiếp tay với BCH, chuẩn bị cho hội trường Tết và các gian hàng.

Có những em tới từ 4 giờ chiều (như thông báo chưa được cập nhật trên website) khiến BCH thật cảm động và vô cùng áy náy. Những khuôn mặt trẻ lần đầu tiên đến với sinh hoạt cộng đồng đã là luồng gió mới, cho thấy sự quan tâm âm thầm của các em với cộng đồng và quả thực, cũng là ngọn lửa thật ấm áp cho Ban Chấp Hành trong những ngày đông giá này .

Nhờ có sự tiếp sức đông đảo kể trên mà 75% việc chuẩn bị đã được hoàn tất.

XIN CẢM ƠN TẤT CẢ TÌNH NGUYỆN VIÊN ĐÃ CÓ MẶT. Mong các Tình Nguyện Viên thông cảm cho một số sơ xuất trong việc điều động chưa được đồng bộ của Ban Tổ Chức. Đó là những kinh nghiệm quý báu mà chúng tôi luôn học hỏi được sau mỗi một sự kiện của cộng đồng.

Sau đây là một số hình ảnh được ghi nhận qua ống kính của cô Thủy Tiên, hiền thê của anh Phạm Kỳ Chinh.

Sách, sách … Cả ngàn quyển sách mới được bán với giá ủng hộ (tùy tâm) cho quỹ thư viện cộng đồng.

Một “Hội Sách” rất hấp dẫn.

Hàng trăm DVD ..
Tất cả được chuyển tặng từ Thư Viện Toàn Cầu Online ở thành phố Westminster, Cali.

Tình nguyện viên đang sắp xếp, phân loại sách

Cười vui

Lần đầu tiên đến với công việc tình nguyện cộng đồng, cô Phương Trần cùng chồng – anh Phan Nhuận và 2 con trai đều có mặt. 

Bên trong hội trường

Công việc hàng năm của anh Phạm Kỳ Chinh

Ban trang trí sân khấu làm việc trong lúc các nhóm trình diễn tổng dợt. 

Một thí sinh dự thi Tài Năng Việt Utah đang thực tập.

Tận dụng tất cả mọi nơi để treo banners

Sân khấu tạm thời

“CHUNG TAY VỖ NÊN KÊU” .

NHỮNG HÌNH ẢNH RẤT ĐẸP CỦA “TẤM LÒNG CỘNG ĐỒNG” HỨA HẸN MỘT NĂM TÂN MÃO ĐOÀN KẾT, THƯƠNG YÊU CHO CỘNG ĐỒNG VIỆT UTAH.

Một lần nữa, xin nhận lời cảm ơn chân thành từ chúng tôi, Ban chấp hành & Ban Tổ Chức Hội Xuân Tân Mão 2011.

SPONSORS Update – Feb 3rd, 2011

181. An Phan & Hien Tran: $30

182. GanhvPhan- Kimcucvo: $20

183. Bao Le (John & Thuyen Le): $30

184. Nam Tran: $20

185. Dzung Anh Pham: $40

186. Michael Trinh_Michael’s Emission: $50

187. Hội Tương Trợ Người Việt Cao Niên: $100

188. ÔB Nguyễn Tài Hiệp: $50

189. Dzung Photo: $50

189. Chieu K Huynh & Lan Nguyen: $ 50

190. Wendy Hong Vo: $20

191. Tam Ha: $20

192. Cha Hà Đăng Thụy: $50

193. Ut Thi Doan: $100

194. Nga Ho: $50

195. OB Nguyen Huu Co: $100

196. Ninh Ngoc Bich: $15

197. ÔB Trịnh Văn Muôn: $30

198. Ô Nguyễn Văn Cảnh: $20

199. ÔB Huỳnh Văn Phương: $50

200. ÔB Nguyễn Đình Đạo: $33

201. Minh Ái: $20

202. Kim Lan: $20

203. Melody Fairborne: $25

204. Vô Danh: $ 1,000

……………………………………

Up to date :  $12,249

THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE: Vietnamese ring in Year of the Cat

source: Vietnamese ring in year of the Cat

(Djamila Grossman | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Vietnamese Community in Utah is celebrating the lunar New Year with a big festival. From left: Nhu Tran, 10, Rose Nguyen, 8, Amy Nguyen, 12, VT Nguyen, 9, Lan Anh Vu, 7, Anne Nguyen, 10, and Dean Pham, 10, gather at Lien Hoa Buddhist Temple in Taylorsville Sunday to practice a dance they will be performing during the festival.
Vietnamese ring in Year of the Cat

Vietnamese ring in Year of the Cat

By Katie Drake

The Salt Lake Tribune

First published Feb 01 2011 06:45PM
Updated Feb 3, 2011 12:17AM

While Chinese-restaurant menus proclaim 2011 the Year of the Rabbit, thousands of Utahns instead will be welcoming the Year of the Cat.

Utah’s Vietnamese community celebrates the lunar New Year, or Tet, this weekend with traditional food, dance and traditions old and new.

Hundreds of Vietnamese refugees came to Utah in the 1970s in the wake of the Vietnam War and about 8,000 Utahns can now trace their heritage to Vietnam, said Susie Ahrens of the Vietnamese Community of Utah.

The cat symbolizes friendship in Vietnam, said Huu Tran, one of the event’s organizers. Cats also symbolize striving to be your best, he said.

The lunar New Year kicks off today and is a national holiday in Vietnam. Everyone has at least three days off and celebrates by eating special foods and visiting friends and family.

Vietnamese here in the United States will have to wait, in this case until Sunday, to celebrate. The community will spend the day gathered at Northwest Middle School, for events ranging from academic awards to a hula hoop contest.

Sixty-four students from eighth grade to college will receive academic awards, Tran said. Students who received good grades get a certificate signed by Gov. Gary Herbert and a $50 cash prize.

“We value education and we want to pass this along to other generations,” Tran said. “The money is just for fun. The big thing is that they’ve been recognized with their families and community.”

Competitions like Viet Utah Talent and Miss Photogenic may not sound like activities that preserve the cultural heritage of the community, but they are important, Ahrens said. For years, the celebration was geared toward those who emigrated from Vietnam, like Ahrens. But elders realized they were not including younger generations, and came up with contests to attract a younger crowd.

“We want the children to know who we are and what we do,” Ahrens said, “and hopefully keep the tradition going.”

Traditional folk dances are an important part of that goal, and dozens of children participate.

Amy Nguyen, 12, will wear traditional Vietnamese dress and play a rice drum in a medley of dances to welcome the new year. The dance offers a chance to learn more about her family’s religious practices, Nguyen said, and is a fun way to celebrate. The tween enjoys dressing up in her fancy clothes, but “it is a lot easier without the dresses and the drums,” she said.

Celebrating is a wonderful cure for homesickness, said choreographer Thai Huong. She has been in Utah for two years and misses her former home and culture. But last year’s Tet celebration made her new home a bit easier to bear, Huong said, and this Tet once again offers a chance for new beginnings.

kdrake@sltrib.com

Hula Hoop Contestants Update – Jan 23rd, 2011

19. Rose Thảo Nguyễn, 8t

20. Mỹ Duyên Thạch,12

21. Jenny Le, 17

22. Ammie Nguyen, 15

The Table Tennis Tournament 2011

          

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            The Table Tennis Tournament 2011 held by The Vietnamese Community of Utah kicked off a sensational start on Sunday, January 24, 2011 at 11 am. Many players were excited to come early in order to know how many people registered for the tournament and which group they belonged to. Some regretted that they did not come because they had unexpected events occurring to their families or themselves; however, they were happy to ask their representatives to draw their names.

            The total of 16 players is randomly picked and placed into two groups. The players from each group have an opportunity to play one to another in order to obtain the best record. The top four players from each group move on the second round. Again, eight of them are drawn randomly into two groups from which the best four players (two from each group) proceed to the final round. It will be held at Northwest Middle School (1700 N. Redwood Rd., SLC, UT 84116) where Vietnamese Lunar New Year 2011 is celebrated. For the best finisher, the runner up and the third finisher, each will be awarded with a trophy, cash prize and certificate sponsored by Hữa Trần, The Chairman of The Vietnamese Community of Utah, term 2010 – 2012.

            The games began after they all pleased to know who their opponents were. Spectaculars and players were so enthusiastic to cheer with explosive claps, friendly laughs and sincere compliments on both sides: a wining or losing ball. All the players showed a strong support for the games and each other. They are encouraging and tipping on each other’s techniques for improvement. Adam Sao Nguyễn (and other players) showed up early and helped to set up the table and stage for the tournament. Hậu Lâm said Diana Phùng was the youngest and fastest augmenting player. Thành Tân was one of the most inspirational players. He drove through the night from California to attend the tournament at home (in Utah) this morning. The players also shared stories of how they improved their own games. The first day of the tournament was ended around 3:00 pm.

            All the players went home with big contented smiles on their faces and some sense of achievements in their spirits because they had competed their very best today. They all said that they were thrilled to participate in the tournament. Playing table tennis is to support their sport spirits and to stay in shapes and well-beings. The players were delighted to know that they would come back to finish the elimination rounds next Sunday, January 30, 2011 at 11 am.

KID’S DRAWING CONTEST 2011

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At 10:00 AM on Sunday Jan 23rd at the VCU office on the second floor of the Latino Mall in West Valley, the drawing contest for Vietnamese children organized by the Vietnamese Community of Utah began with the participation of 21 contestants.

Theme for this year contest was “Your dream in the New Spring”

All contestants were given a free T-shirt with theme logo designed and printed by Mai Phuong at her resident.

The VCU provided paper and drawing supplies, Susie Man treated them with her homemade cookies for refreshments.

The contest was carefully and perfectly planned after 2 years of learning experience.

The children excitedly started, blank pieces of paper slowly transformed into different dreams of future, many want to be artists themselves, others described their dreams by different images of professions, some cleverly used the Cat to symbolize the New Year, and their  wisdom for dreams and goals of a bright  future.

Each drawing was a masterpiece in it’s own way that showed their creativities and ambitions.

There were 26 contestants who registered this year compare to 19 of last year.

Judges for this contest include Artist Dom (of the VCU), Mr Dinh Trang, Ms Ngoc Nha (Hue college of Arts), Mr Chinh Pham (Architect), Mr Hung Bui (Engineer & Web Design).

Result will be announced during the TET celebration organized by the VCU on Sunday Feb 6th at North West Middle School, 1700 North Redwood Road, SLC 84116.

SPONSORS Update – Jan 25th, 2011

147. Cô Lan Nguyễn- Lạc Việt Band: $50
148. ÔB Phong Trần & Nhung Dương: $50
149. ÔB Tuan Vo & Susan Le:$20
150. Thu Le: $20
151. ÔB Quyen La & Muoi Tran: $10
152. ÔB CamLien Gienger: $200
153. ÔB Quang Lam & Lieu Phan: $50
154. ÔB Lê Quới: $50
155. ÔB Đặng Vĩnh Khâm: $30
156. ÔB Nancy Phan & Thành Hứa: $20
157. ÔB Lê Xuân Mai: $30 (Tổng cộng $50)
158. Ngân Lê: $20
159. Vô Danh: $20
160. Dũng Trần: $ 20
161. Nguyen: $30
162. ÔB Louis Pham & Kim Anh: $ 50
163. ÔB David Ta: $20
164. Ben Van La: $10
165. ÔB Hang Thanh Pham:$100
166. ÔB Boc Van Dang: $30
167. ÔB Tho Q Le & Chi Vien T Do: $20
168. ÔB Phong Huynh_Auto Interiors: $30
169. ÔB Jason Nguyen & Thuy Pham: $50
170. Hue Cam Nguyen: $20
171. Thai Ngoc Trinh: $20
172. Tôn Thất Hoàng: $20
173. ÔB Nguyễn Mạnh Trí_Tri Auto Repair: $100
174. ÔB Taylor Q Vu & La T Vu: $50
175. Hoang Huy Tran: $20
176. ÔB Hao A Vo & Kim Vo: $20
177. ÔB Chuoc Vuong: $10
178. ÔB Giúp V Dang & Truoc T Tran: $20
179. ÔB Tuấn & Vi Nguyễn: $100
180. ÔB Nguyễn Đức Lân: $50
………………………………………….
UP TO DATE: $ 10,321