Press Release
“Tuesday Musicale” will hold its second-annual Tet (Vietnamese New Year) dinner, which is a fundraiser for its student summer music camp scholarships.
The dinner will be held this Saturday (Feb. 13) at 6 p.m. on the Backus stage.
Tickets are limited to 80 seats, with the cost being $25/person.
To reserve yours, call Hoa at 1-218-285-7225 or e-mail hoasobczynski@backusab.org
Vietnamese New Year is the most important festival of the Vietnamese people. When spring arrives, all Vietnamese are thrilled by the advent of Tet.
Wherever they may be, they feel an immense nostalgia—wishing to come back to their homeland for a family reunion and a taste of the particular flavours of the Vietnamese festivities.
This scared festival occurs sometime between late January or early February, depending on lunar calendar.
Although officially a three-day affair, festivities may continue for a week or more, with every effort made to indulge in eating, drinking, and enjoyable social activities.
It also is a time for family reunions, and for paying respect to ancestors and the elders.
Gifts of food are made to friends, neighbours, and relatives in the days before Tet.
Above all, Tet is a time for meeting. It is an opportunity for the household genies to meet, those who have helped during the year, namely the Craft Creator, the Land Genie, and the Kitchen God.
Tet also is an opportunity to invite and welcome deceased ancestors back for a family reunion with their descendants to join the family’s celebrations.
Finally, Tet is a good opportunity for family members to meet.
This custom has become sacred and secular and, therefore, no matter where they are or whatever the circumstances, family members find ways to come back to meet their loved ones and gather for a dinner of traditional foods like bánh chung (a square cake made of sticky rice stuffed with beans and pork), mang (a soup of boiled bamboo shoots and filed pork), and xôi (orange sticky rice).
This is followed by a visit to the local pagodas.
The dinner at Backus will feature fresh spring rolls, Cơm (white rice), Chả(meatloaf), Thịt Nướng (barbecued chicken), Hà Nội Beef Noodle Soup, and Pavlova, all prepared by Vietnam native Hoa Sobczynski and her friends.
“Tuesday Musicale” was started more than 50 years ago as a way for local ladies to support musical arts.
Over the years, they have raised thousands of dollars to send many local students to music camps at Bemidji and Duluth, Mn.
The group meets on the third Tuesday of the month at noon in the Backus dining room.
If you would like to become a member, call Linda Torseth at 1-218-285-7653.
