For Immediate Release: April 30, 2008
Contact: Jeff Morgan
Public Relations
515.281.3858
Jeff.Morgan@iowa.gov
Iowa Arts Council celebrates Asian Heritage Month with Tet program
(DES MOINES, Iowa)—The Iowa Arts Council will celebrate Asian Heritage Month with a program about Tet, the Vietnamese New Year, 1-3 p.m., Saturday, May 10, 2008, at the State Historical Building, 600 E. Locust Street in Des Moines.
Thanks to funding from the National Endowment for the Arts American Masterpieces Initiative, the public is invited to this free, family-oriented performance that will feature dragon dancers, a fashion show, singing and food demonstrations, including samples. More information is available at 515-281-5111 or www.culturalaffairs.org .
A major holiday for which families clean and decorate their homes, prepare special foods, and entertain guests, Tet celebrates a break in agricultural activities. It also marks the time when the Kitchen God journeys to Heaven to make his annual report on household activities to the Jade Emperor.
The Vietnamese, like many other ethnic groups, follow a lunar calendar. This means that Tet, which occurs in the 12th moon month and lasts three days, takes place sometime between the last 10 days of January and the middle of February on the western calendar.
Tet involves rituals that pay homage to the ancestors. Women prepare elaborate traditional food to be offered to the ancestors and served to family and friends. While dishes vary by region in Vietnam, favorites include chân giò ninh mang (pig feet with bamboo shoots), xôi gac (sticky rice), xào hanh nhan (stir-fried almonds), nom du du (papaya salad), and chè kho (green bean pudding) as well as lon quay (roast pork), and bánh chung (square sticky-rice cake).
Since most of Iowa’s Vietnamese are from South Vietnam, families here also serve thit kho (stewed pork and coconut milk) as well as dua gia (pickled green bean sprouts with leeks, sliced carrot and turnip). Bánh tét (round-shaped glutinous cake) and bánh tráng (rice waffle) are also on the menu.
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The Iowa Arts Council is a division of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs and works to enrich the quality of life and learning in Iowa communities by encouraging excellence in the arts through leadership, grants and technical assistance. Funding for the Iowa Arts Council and its programs is provided by the State of Iowa and the National Endowment for the Arts. Please visit www.iowaartscouncil.org