Vietnamese gala celebration welcomes hundreds to the town

Singing, dancing and traditional regional cuisine were part of this year’s Vietnamese New Year gala evening, on 19 January, hosted by University of Northampton Students.

The Vietnamese Students Society in Northampton worked with members of the community across Northamptonshire and Vietnamese societies across the UK to organise a celebration of Tet, marking the Lunar New Year.

This year Northampton celebrated in style, with over 250 people, including Northampton Mayor Councillor Nazim Choudary and the Ambassador Extraordinaire from Vietnamese Embassy in the UK, Mr. Tran Ngoc An.

The iconic local venue, the Royal and Derngate, played host to the showcase of Vietnamese culture, with the University’s Vietnamese Student Society taking to the stage treat the audience to a performance, as well as games and activities and traditional cuisine from Vietnam.

Linh Dang, President of Vietnamese Students Society and the Event Leader, said: “This gala evening was a fantastic opportunity to connect our University and fellow Vietnamese people, with the community of Northampton. We’re proud of our heritage and culture and what better way to share this with the town than to mark the Vietnamese New Year.”

The Vietnamese Student Society was established in 2012 with just 20 students and its aim was to help connect them and help them adapt to life in the UK. Now, the society has hundreds of members and is one of the most successful student societies at the University of Northampton, and the UK.