The history of the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, known as Tết Nguyên Đán, or simply Tết, is rooted in the earliest settlements in northern Vietnam’s Red River Delta and marks the new cycle of wet rice cultivation with the approach of spring. It is the biggest celebration of the year, and several hundred members of central Arkansas’ Vietnamese community joined their family and friends in the community center at Bryant’s Bishop Park February 4 to bid farewell to the Year of the Rabbit and usher in the Year of the Dragon, which officially began on February 10. For more than two decades the Chùa Bát Nhã temple in Bauxite has organized the annual festival, which is free and open to all. It has grown over the years from just a few dozen celebrants in a small metal building to the hundreds of revelers who gathered at the city of Bryant’s large gymnasium. It was a joyful—and cacophonous—day featuring music, the traditional dragon dance, (recorded) fireworks, games and prizes. And naturally there was plenty of food, including favorites of Vietnamese cuisine like phở, bún bowls, bánh mì sandwiches, and sweet treats like pandan waffles and Vietnamese iced coffee, or cà phê đá.