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Local organizer pitches 50th‑anniversary program marking fall of Saigon to Mountlake Terrace DEI commission
Summary
A Mountlake Terrace resident, Tuva Nguyen, proposed a community event honoring the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon. She asked the commission and city staff for help securing a venue and connecting with local Vietnamese organizations; staff offered follow‑up to identify an available room or include the program in an existing AAPI event.
Tuva Nguyen, founder of Departure Bridal and Success, asked the Mountlake Terrace Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Commission on Jan. 23 to help produce an event marking the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon and to preserve and share Vietnamese family stories.
Nguyen said she envisioned a two‑part program with a short historical presentation followed by music, poetry and community readings to honor the sacrifices of families who fled Vietnam after April 1975. “This flag is the flag of my birth,” Nguyen said while describing the Vietnamese flag and the personal history that motivates the project.
The applicant told commissioners the biggest immediate hurdle is securing a venue. She said Mountlake Terrace Library staff told her the main meeting room can be booked only two months out and that March 30 — a date she’d hoped to use for a march toward the 50th anniversary — could not be reserved. Nguyen asked whether the commission or city could help secure library or City Hall space or allow her to participate in the city’s planned Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) month activities.
Staff and commissioners discussed two paths: (1) assist Nguyen in securing a standalone venue for a history‑focused program, and (2) include a Vietnamese history segment in the city’s AAPI event. Staff member Andrew (last name not specified in the record) said the AAPI event is scheduled for May 17 at Terrace Park Elementary School and that the city could explore whether a Vietnamese program could be folded into that larger event if a separate March date proves infeasible.
Commissioners and staff agreed to continue logistics conversations outside the public meeting. “We’ll take this down the road and you and I start talking as much logistics go,” a commissioner said, and staff offered to work with Nguyen on date and venue options. The commission did not take formal action at the meeting; the record shows staff and the organizer were directed to follow up.
Why it matters: Nguyen told the commission many local Vietnamese businesses and families would be interested if a date and venue are secured; she cited an estimated 55,000 Vietnamese people in the broader county area as a reason the event could draw community participation and local economic support.
Next steps: The organizer and staff agreed to continue planning outside the meeting and report back; staff indicated they would help with venue availability and marketing once a date is firm. The commission did not commit city funds during the discussion.
