A rainbow of hearts assembled and raised before the Tet parade begins.
The 2014 Tet Parade was fabulous. It was not just normally fabulous, but fabulous for the inclusion of VROC, the Viet Rainbow of Orange County, which patiently and firmly asserted its right not to be excluded from the parade — and won the right to march equipped not only with the traditional Vietnamese and American flags, but with the LGBT cultural symbol — who, whether anyone likes it or not, have long been a part of Vietnamese culture and pretty much every other composed of more than a handful of people. That symbol is the rainbow flag. It doesn’t mean that anyone else isn’t entitled to the rainbow symbolism as well; it just means that they have to share it.
I have 32 photos and five videos to show you (and many more photos that didn’t make the cut.) I’m doing something unusual for me: I’m asserting copyright over them, while granting the rights to anything but commercial sale and destruction to anyone who planned, helped, marched with, or well-wished with VROC on February 1. Everyone else: your rights are limited to Fair Use. I’ll license these with abandon for the asking, but retract that license as need be.
Let’s start with the videos, then the 31 remaining photos. First, here’s the last (and longest) video that I took. In case you’re only going to watch one of them, I’m putting it first, because it so wonderfully captures the sights, sounds, and spirit of VROC’s participation in the 2014 Tet parade.
Now to go back to the beginning: circling out to look at the marchers as they assembled pre-parade, joined by friends and well-wishers.
Rep. Alan Lowenthal welcomes and celebrates the VROC marchers.
When you’ve won State Sen. Lou Correa’s blessing, you’ve won America.
VROC marchers sing and celebrate as Jose Solorio sneaks in some balloons.
Now for photos, more or less in chronological order. I’m printing them big (and I have the full sized ones 5x this size if anyone from VROC needs them), but that’s so people can more readily snag useful images of them. Just scroll down as fast as you’d like.
Putting It Together
Some assembly of the VROC display — which, as you’ll see, was festive and gorgeous — was required. At 7:00 on Saturday morning, people trickled in; by 7:30, they were well into their work.
The centerpiece of the VROC display was this balloon rainbow. Here it is before it cooled down (color-wise.)
The Ao Doi formal dress is appropriate for the occasion. Here are three in primary colors. They didn’t stop there.
Rainbow … assembled! We had serious concerns about how to keep it from flying away. One valiant woman sacrificed a lot of circulation to her finger to make sure that it stayed in place.
Somewhere under the rainbow
NEED. MORE. BALLOONS!
It wasn’t ALL gowns and balloons — check out the beautiful rainbow of hearts, here and in the first photo above!
Hurrying Pp and Waiting
Once everything was together — and after some extended period of hanging around wondering what to do next — the marchers advanced towards what seemed like a reasonable waiting area, behind a group of youthful martial artists (whom I didn’t photograph because I was afraid that some 7-year-old would flip me onto the asphalt.) You can here get a sense of the procession. Then we hung out next to people who were also hanging out.
VROC on the move from the assembly area to the “wait here for an hour” area!
Among the primary organizers of the event was Hieu Nhu (whom I knew as Damien), in the white Ao Doi. Here, he makes sure that everything looks OK before they proceed.
Hieu heads ’em up and moves ’em out! Entry 59, march!
While VROC marchers were looking good in their finery, so were others in the parade
Some managed to simultaneously look good — and look badass!
The Wonnnnn-derfull Worrrrrrrld of … COLOR!
It is not that every entry in a parade such as this needs to be so flamboyantly and buoyantly colorful. It’s that this too is a part of Vietnamese culture — and America’s. As VROC’s contingent shows, the LGBT community just happens to be particularly avid at pursuing it and accomplished at achieving it. And isn’t it lovely?
The color guard was clearly enjoying all of the added color
When the rainbow flag is not even necessarily the most colorfully attention-grabbing thing in the photo, you KNOW that people have gone all out!
Part of the color, of course, includes the flags — proudly borne and waved
All four flags of the day on display
Looks good from this side too!
At first, the parade organizers wanted only the U.S. and South Vietnamese flags. VROC asked if they could have the California flag. Sure! Then why not the rainbow flag? Well, as you can see, people carried it — and the sky did not fall in. Mostly, the effect of VROC’s participation is that things just got prettier.
Even the VROCkers themselves couldn’t resist photographing the display
VROC Gets Visitors from the Land of … Politics!
Once VROC got far enough into the parade that political and community leaders could find it — not that the balloon rainbow wasn’t a good hint in that respect — well-wishers came by, and were often given miniature rainbow flags paid for by the Democratic Party of Orange County. (Next year, the OCGOP is welcome to join us in this!)
VROC was feeling the love from local politicians and community leaders, such as these black-suited figures
Rep. Alan Lowenthal, who represents Westminster and most of Garden Grove in Congress, was a delighted supporter of the event (as you’ll see in the video well above.) He’s seen here with Hieu Nhu.
Alan Lowenthal and Bao Nguyen at the parade
State Senator Lou Correa, who currently represents this area, celebrates the New Year with LGBT activist and VROC advisor Jeff LeTourneau
Bao Nguyen waves the rainbow flag without wavering — and has it keeping company with his cultural patrimony
Garden Grove City Councilman Chris Phan celebrates the New Year with Hieu Nhu
Westminster City Councilwoman Diana Carey mixed and mingled well with the VROC group — but she was also REALLY enthusiastic about this Westminster High School entry!
Because the VROC contingent was (and had to be) non-partisan, their rainbow flags were unadorned. But — Democratic Party of Orange County volunteers handed out to the crowd flags with DPOC logos, to celebrate the victory of LGBT inclusion in the parade. Next year, I hope that both — or all! — parties will have rainbow flags with their own logos. (Note: we do NOT put logos on US flags!)
While Garden Grove School Board member Bao Nguyen was a welcome visitor, the OC Labor Federation’s Julio Perez and Gloria Alvarado were in on the planning, helping bring their intricate security protocols to the parade. We were ready for civil disobedience had anything untoward happened — which, happily, it didn’t. Thank you, Westminster Police Department!
All in all, it made for a pretty happy looking group!
Some Final Images
Like Julio and Gloria, as one of the people helping with the parade without being within the boundaries of the marchers (in my case, as a legal liaison and troubleshooter, along with Mike Kinslow and Dominique Thieu), I was entitled to wear the “rainbow tie.” (Sadly, I was not allowed to keep the rainbow tie as a souvenir. But I’m not bitter, much). [NOTE: an earlier version of this photo showed my eyebrows, the vision of which threatened to swallow the entire comments section, so I have removed it. I cropped my beard, too, just in case that too was too much for people. There may be chest hairs visible in the photo — I didn’t bring a shirt I could button up to the top — but I upped the contrast so that they should not stand out. To the extent any still do, commenters will just have to endure it.)
More than ever, the beauty of the Tet Parade was not simply celebrating the New Year and Vietnamese culture — but that fact that we are all Americans, with equal rights under the law.
“OK, everyone, you can all stop reading this article now! Check out some of our other fine blog articles! Thanks!”
Greg, can i trim your eyebrows please. I know that you are trying to appear butch but you too can look FABULOUS! seriously. just let me help.
My eyebrows mark me as a mentat, sir. The Guild demands that I wear them thusly. But my wife agrees with you — and recently tricked me into some substantial deforestation.
If there’s one more comment on that photo, instead of all the beautiful ones up there, I think I’ll take it down!
That’s it, I’ve taken that photo down and replaced it with a loose Windsor close-up. I should have realized that that much masculinity in a photo showing my virile and untamed eyebrows would take over the discussion. Just please don’t go after my armpits, OK?
the photo reaffirms my contention that mr diamond is one stylish guy
but the real question is, where are the photos of the ho chi mien contingent
They’re in the homeland, busy being rapacious capitalists.
At the SW outskirt of Little Saigon, Beach Blvd and McFadden, there is an excellent Vietnamese vegetarian restaurant, a bakery and a hair salon where eyebrows are trimmed at your request. (while you’re there, you can discreetly have a taco de ojo..).So in your way to Vern’s concert, stop by there Greg!
My Viet beauty shop (it is what it is) in Fullerton trims my eyebrows, but I hadn’t been in for a while. Focus, everyone! (P.S.: SOY!)
(Taco de ojo? Sounds revolting! Not pleasing to the eye!)
Any pics of the rest of the parade?
Newly bought phone charger, which was supposed to get me through the last half of the parade, did not impart a charge. Anyway, when you’re anchored to one float, you can’t cover the ones way in front of you — and we were towards the back, so there wasn’t that much behind us. You do see three other entrants in these pics, though.
(I swear this is not a set-up!) After I returned here, (forehead slap) “Why, Google knows EVERYthing!” Sure enough, OC Viet Newspapers — Ngoi Viet—(translate) can you believe THAT? Oh, look, right there in the center! (click) OMG, a YouTube video! –
http://nguoiviettv.com/?p=10143
I don’t know WHY I didn’t just do that first, must be eating too much SOY!
That was an interesting 27 minutes! Veterans, martial arts, school groups, politicians – I was kinda hoping to see more of those paper-mache dragon head figures running around, but I guess that’s just me.