I visited the Tet Festival Parade today, over in Westminster, and took a lot of pictures, which you can enjoy in the slideshow above.
A number of protesters did show up to back up the gay Vietnamese activists in the parade, but they didn’t cause any trouble. Everyone just looked happy to be there. Click here to read about the anti-gay backlash by some Viet community members.
It was a beautiful day for a parade. The parade route was lined with local residents and their kids.
There were a lot of politicians and candidates there, including:
- Republican Gubernatorial candidate Steve Poizner
- State Senator Lou Correa
- State Board of Equalization Member Michelle Steel
- Congressman Loretta Sanchez
- Congressman Ed Royce
- Congressman Dana Rohrabacher
- Assemblyman Jose Solorio
- Assemblyman Van Tran, who is running for the 47th Congressional District
- District Attorney Tony Rackauckas
- Supervisor Janet Nguyen
- Orange County Clerk-Recorder candidate Hugh Nguyen
- Westminster Councilmen Tri Ta, Frank Fry and Truong “Tyler” Diep
- Westminster Councilman Andy Quach, who was in a car with a painting of strippers on it! Click here for pictures
- Westminster Mayor Margie Rice
- Garden Grove Councilman Bruce Broadwater and Mayor Bill Dalton
- Westminster School Board Member Sergio Contreras
- Westminster School Board Member Andrew Nguyen
- Huntington Beach School Board Trustee Matt Harper
- Anaheim Councilman Harry Sidhu, who is also running for the 4th Supervisorial District
- Costa Mesa Councilman Alan Mansoor, who is also running for the 68th Assembly District
- Phu Nguyen, Democratic candidate for the 68th Assembly District
- Quang Pham, Republican candidate for the 47th Congressional District
There were also a lot of city commissioners at the parade.
Other participants included Veterans of the Vietnam and Korean Wars, local martial arts organizations, Vietnamese cultural organizations and businesses, and student bands.
Seems like ex-Councilman and full-time loser Kermit Marsh has thankfully left town.
#1,
Oh, I saw Kermit. He is doing fine. Grew a beard.
I did however miss the car Andy Quach was in, but Bolsavik caught it:
http://bolsavik.com/2010/02/andy-quach-has-best-car-of-tet-parade/#comment-65857
Did Janet Nguyen have bodyguards?….
Mallcop,
LOL! Thoise guys were Janet’s farm team.
The tall guy in the pictures is her husband, Tom Bonikowski. Janet pulled strings to get him appointed to the Garden Grove Planning Commission.
The other guys were Nick Le Cong and Andrew Do. They work in her office. Janet got Do elected to the Garden Grove City Council last year, despite rumors that he was a carpetbagger.
The only politician I saw who did have armed guards was D.A. Tony Rackauckas. He had a security detail with him.
Chuc Mung Nam Moi – Happy New Year!!!
From UMAVA (United Mexican-American Veterans Association)
We were proud and grateful for the opportunity to participate in the TET Parade and Festival.
Francisco Barragan
Commander, UMAVA
http://umava.org