Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
Little Saigon Flower Festival heralds the lunar new year
Listen
• 1:05
()
()
()
()
()
()
()
()
()
The lunar new year is less than two weeks away and families across Southern California are cleaning up and decorating their homes to welcome in the new year.
Colorful flower markets are traditional in Vietnam at this time of year, and Vietnamese-Americans have brought that tradition to Orange County, where the Asian Garden Mall in Little Saigon hosts an annual flower festival in its front parking lot.
On a sunny morning, Sandy Nguyen shook the water from the recent rains off plastic sleeves encircling colorful orchids lined up along the front of her stall.
“This a cattleya,” she explained, pointing to an orchid with purple and white blooms. “In the afternoon, they have a fragrance. It smells really nice.”
Support for LAist comes from
Hers is among several dozen outdoor stalls selling flowers, miniature fruit trees and red and gold decorations to help ring in the new year.
“They bring a lot of good luck and healthy and happy to the family,” Nguyen said.
Orange County’s Little Saigon, which straddles Westminster and Garden Grove, is home to the second largest Vietnamese population in the U.S. (Northern California’s San Jose has the largest.)
People buy flowers to decorate their homes for the new year and the annual Tet festival, and they give them to family and friends as gifts.
Many of Nguyen’s orchids are imported from abroad, and one, a “Rosedust” orchid, or Laelia anceps, costs a cool $2,000. But she and others had plenty of beauties for under $10.
The flower festival ends Jan. 26, two days before the new year.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
If approved, the more than 62-acre project would include 50 housing lots and a marina less than a mile from Jackie and Shadow's famous nest overlooking the lake. -
The U.S. Supreme Court lifted limits on immigration sweeps in Southern California, overturning a lower court ruling that prohibited agents from stopping people based on their appearance.
-
Censorship has long been controversial. But lately, the issue of who does and doesn’t have the right to restrict kids’ access to books has been heating up across the country in the so-called culture wars.
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity.
-
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
Best of LAist