Various cultures were represented on Saturday at the Officer Jeremy Henwood Memorial Park in City Heights for the annual Lunar New Year Festival. The festival was organized by Little Saigon San Diego, an organization founded in 2008 by Su Nguyen.

“The biggest celebration we have is Lunar New Year,” said Nguyen.

Over the years, Nguyen has brought the City Heights community together — a home to many Vietnamese families, including Nguyen’s.

“We left Vietnam in 1975 — the fall of Saigon — and we settled in City Heights. City Heights is a very diverse community, it’s very friendly, very welcoming to immigrants,” said Nguyen.

2026 marks the year of the Fire Horse. The Lunar New Year may have originated in China, but it’s largely celebrated across Asia.

According to the United Nations (UN), more than 1 billion people celebrate the tradition across the world. That’s roughly one-fifth of the world’s population.

To Nguyen, the Lunar New Year brings back the memories of his childhood of growing up in Vietnam with his family.

“I’ve grown up with it. When we left Vietnam, we brought nothing. It’s only the memories, the history and everything that we brought along with us,” said Nguyen.

Part of the festival’s message, according to its website, is to speak out against Asian hate. Data from the FBI in 2024 showed one of the worst years for anti-Asian hate crimes on record in the U.S. It was the third highest rate of crimes targeting the Asian community in recent history.

That’s why, in part, Nguyen wants the festival to be more than just a good time for people. He hopes the celebrations bring about a better understanding of his culture and in turn, a sense of unity.

“We celebrate it, we invite the people to come and celebrate with us. Then we become like one,” said Nguyen.

The adversity that Nguyen has faced is part of what drives him to continue sharing his culture with the community — a community that over the last 16 years, has culminated into the festival put on by Little Saigon San Diego.

This year’s festival runs through Sunday, February 15. The Lunar New Year officially begins on Tuesday, February 17. The celebrations typically end with a lantern festival on March 3.