Tuesday, 22 February 2022

St Albans Lunar New Year Festival

Ms SULEYMAN (St Albans) (12:22): Last week I had the privilege of celebrating the St Albans Lunar New Year Festival with my community, which was a resounding success. We had a huge turnout, with over 80 000 people attending across the day to experience the best that our local Vietnamese food and culture has to offer. From dragon and lion dancing to fireworks and carnival rides, it was a festival for all. I am very proud to have been involved in this event for over 20 years now.

Last year, like so many, I attended the online festival. It still got over half a million views, showing just how strong the support for this event is in my community. It was so exciting to be back in person this year, especially for the local businesses, and I know that Du Huynh and Fresh Chilli Deli were on track to sell over 1000 banh mis on that day alone. A very big thankyou to the fantastic St Albans Business Group Association, in particular the president, Sebastian Agricola, who has done a tremendous amount of work just in the last six weeks to get this festival back on track, and of course the St Albans traders and community groups for making this festival, the 25th St Albans Lunar New Year Festival, one that was enjoyed by all. I particularly want to thank the community groups, including GDPT Dai Bi Quan Am Lion Dance and Australian Vietnamese Arts.