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 SAN JOSE, CA - ICAN joined forces with Vietnamese American Cultural Foundation (VietACF) in celebrating the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival (Tet Trung Thu) with thousands of children and families.
Sponsored by VietACF and supported by ICAN and many other Vietnamese American non-profit and community-based organizations in the Bay area, this year's Mid-Autumn Moon Festival took place at Ceasar Chavez Park, Downtown San Jose on September 25, 2004, from noon to dark. Thousands of people came to the festival. As the center of activities for children, ICAN offered face painting and lantern making workshops and contest. Ha Nguyen, an ICAN volunteer, has graciously agreed to teach children how to make lanterns, a skill that she learned as a young child growing up in Hue. The fun and challenge of making a lantern attracted many children and their parents and grandparents, making ICAN's booth one of the most crowded corners -- beyond anyone's expectations. "... We were exhausted. But looking at those smiles gives us all the strength to keep going...," said Hai Hoang, an ICAN member. ICAN's booth was packed for hours, and at one point had 12 volunteers or more to help work with the children. Some of those volunteers were highschool and college students themselves who just learned the lantern making techniques on that day. They enjoyed it so much that they stayed for hours to help other children make their lantern. Then the children all joined the Lantern Parade later that evening.
 Making paper lanterns helps families share enjoyable moments together. It also helps children to learn about the Vietnamese tradition and appreciate their cultural roots. It was a great sight seeing fathers working with daughters, mothers helping sons, sisters helping brothers, grandmothers teaching grandchildren how to make lanterns. One grandmother was moved to tears when she said "... Grandma used to teach your mom how to do this....". Those children and youth skilled at the newly learned art were encouraged to participate in the Lantern Contest that started at 4pm. These are children aged 5-15 who are capable of making lanterns on their own. Three finalists were chosen for their innovative lantern design. The FIRST, SECOND and THIRD finalists were presented with trophies and money (sponsored by VietACF).
Tet Trung Thu would not be Tet Trung Thu if chidlren do not have a lantern in their hand. And ICAN would not have been able to fulfill our mission of serving the children that night if it had not been for the support of the volunteers and the entire community. Thank you VietACF for sponsoring such a great event. Many thanks to the volunteers who came to ICAN to lend a hand. Even more thanks to those who offer to go forth with ICAN on future activities. Thank you parents, grandparents, siblings and friends, thank you everyone for the great moments. And special thanks to the children whose smiles warmed everyone's heart and made the hard work all worth it. THANK YOU and SEE YOU ALL NEXT YEAR!!!
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