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Festival Celebrates Vietnamese Lunar New Year and
Year of the Cat on January 14 and 15
SEATTLE – Seattle Center Festál kicks off the 2023 festival series with the 27th Tết in Seattle – Vietnamese Lunar New Year on Jan. 14 and 15, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Seattle Center Armory Food & Event Hall and Fisher Pavilion. The festival is free, family-friendly and open to the public.
Tết in Seattle provides a glimpse into the rich Vietnamese culture through amazing art, food, and music, as well as age-old and contemporary cultural traditions. Its annual health fair will be returning with free services and screenings for eye health, osteoporosis and more.
The engaging two-day event is produced by Tết in Seattle (T-I-S), a volunteer-based community organization, which honors the culture of Vietnamese and Vietnamese Americans in the Pacific Northwest.
“Our vision for One Seattle means bringing communities together to celebrate the diversity that makes our city stronger,” said Mayor Bruce Harrell. “The Tết Festival uplifts Vietnamese and Vietnamese American communities and gives Seattleites an opportunity to experience their unique cultural heritage and vibrant traditions through art, food, and music.”
This year’s festival will have special-live performances from Anh Minh and Ha Thanh Xuan, lion dances, local food vendors, art exhibits, a fashion show, hands-on activities for kids, and family-oriented events for all to enjoy.
“Seattle Center is pleased to host Tết in Seattle as our first Festál festival of the year,” said Robert Nellams, Seattle Center director. “What a wonderful way to welcome everyone to campus to enjoy the cultures that make up our city in 2023.”
This festival is the first in a series of festivals put on by 24 cultural organizations that Seattle Center will host over the course of 2023.
About Tết History
Tết occurs on the first day of the Lunar New Year, typically in late January or early February, and is celebrated for three to five days. During this period, families reunite and put aside the past year’s struggles and pray for blessings in the year to come. Homes are cleaned, fresh clothes are donned, and streets are decorated in preparation for Tết. In every home, altars are set up to welcome ancestors with a full spread of Vietnamese dishes.
About Tết Festival
Tết in Seattle was formed in 1996 by four Vietnamese organizations invested in celebrating and preserving traditional Vietnamese culture in the Seattle community. The groups hoped to host an event which would unite the Vietnamese community and introduce that community to the greater Seattle area. Observance of the Lunar New Year, Tết Nguyên Đán, presented the perfect opportunity to do so. Information on Tết in Seattle is available at https://www.tetinseattle.org/ and http://www.seattlecenter.com/events/featured-events/festal/tet-in-seattle, as well as on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.
About Seattle Center Festál
Seattle Center Festál cultivates a deeper understanding of the cultures and ethnic diversity that contribute to the rich vibrancy of the Pacific Northwest. This unique series links together 24 free festivals presented on weekends from January to November, each with its own cultural focus, identity, and range of engaging activities. Seattle Center Festál is Where the World Gathers to celebrate the people, the places, the stories, and the traditions of the city’s communities. Seattle Center Festál is produced in partnership with 24 different community groups and supported by 4Culture, City of Seattle, and Seattle Center Foundation. Festál is also part of the ArtsFund Cultural Partners Network.
About Seattle Center
Connect to the extraordinary at Seattle Center, an active civic, arts, and family gathering place in the core of our city and region. As part of the Uptown Arts & Cultural District, Seattle Center’s 74-acre campus, centered around the International Fountain, is home to Climate Pledge Arena; more than 30 cultural, educational, sports and entertainment organizations; and a broad range of public and community programs – with the purpose of creating exceptional events, experiences, and environments which delight and inspire the human spirit to build stronger communities. Thanks to the support of Official Seattle Center Partners – Alaska Airlines, The Climate Pledge, Coors Light, Pepsi, Premera, Symetra, T-Mobile, and WaFd Bank – Seattle Center is the #1 arts and entertainment destination in the Pacific Northwest with 12 million annual visitors, generating $1.864 billion in business activity and more than $631 million in labor income annually. www.seattlecenter.com
