Editor’s Note: The article originally interchanged the names of two individuals who work at Spin Drip Cafe. It has been corrected to reflect that Andrew Min is the is the fiancée of Tracy Pham, not Michael Kang, who also works at the shop. We apologize for the error.
On August 16, Celebrate Little Saigon marked its fourteenth annual event, which included food and retail vendors, musical performances, and family activities.
In 2011, the first celebration was held at what was originally the Lam Seafood parking lot. There were only about 50 attendees, according to Quỳnh Phạm, executive director of Friends of Little Saigon.
“We wanted to bring the community together and throw some type of community gathering and celebration. So we wanted to throw our own small block party, and that’s how it started,” she said.
That parking lot on South King Street would later become Hoa Mai Park, where the event is now held. Pham says there were up to one thousand attendees this year.
Simultaneously, there were public safety concerns in its surrounding areas, including informal commerce and drug activity occurring near the event.
“Public safety challenges are an ongoing daily thing that we try to address,” Pham said, “For events like this, we try to coordinate with the city and with our local service providers to make sure that people get resources and things that they need.”
Tony Hua-Wong, whose parents own Spring Roll House Deli in Little Saigon, echoed her thoughts on public safety but highlighted that he would like to see more events like this. As a vendor, he said it was busier than expected. The restaurant sold out around halfway through the event, and he made trips back to the brick-and-mortar location to restock.
“I think this is great, because now you’re reactivating the space. People are coming in; they’re feeling less scared and worried about the space,” he says, “And the park has been cleaned up, so it looks nice. I feel like the residents and local community are really enjoying the event.”
Phạm also said she had gotten a positive reception to the celebration and more requests to do similar events.
“People want to see more of this type of activation in the neighborhood, especially for our Hoa Mai Park” she said. “On a daily basis it’s not utilized by families and kids, and that’s what we’ve built the park for.”
Towards the beginning of the event, several city candidates made stops, including incumbents Mayor Bruce Harrell and Seattle City Council President Sara Nelson, as well as Seattle City Council Position 2 candidate Eddie Lin, according to Phạm.
Before the event, Phạm had spoken to many of the city candidates in one-on-one conversations.
“I’ve had a chance to talk to all the candidates, because we want to elevate the priorities and issues in the neighborhood. Public safety is one of them… more investment around some of our basic infrastructure,” she said. “Our sidewalks are deteriorating. We need more trees. There’s a lot of just basic things that we need for this neighborhood to make sure that we invest in so that our community and our businesses can come back.”
When asked about the source of the issue, Phạm highlighted the need for continuous investment and support.
“We feel like there’s a lack of coordination, and because of elections and all that, I think people get pulled into different directions,” she said. “They don’t prioritize this neighborhood until it’s election time.”
Phạm noted the current projects that support local needs, such as the Downtown Activation Team, which is working to provide cleaning and safety services to downtown Seattle, the Chinatown-International District, and Little Saigon.
This year, there was also the highest number of vendors working the event, which totaled around 30. This included Spin Drip Cafe, whose co-owner, Tracy Pham, grew up in Beacon Hill and emphasized the importance of participating in a local event.
“Personally, doing this means a lot. Just because I am so deeply connected to Seattle and I feel like it’s kind of my way of giving back to the community that raised me,” she said.
She runs the café pop-up with her fiancée, Andrew Min, and Michael Kang. They are also involved in events in the CID community, hosting pop-ups at Little Saigon Creative and mam’s bookstore.
Like many other vendors there, it was their first time selling at Celebrate Little Saigon. Community members and small businesses, such as Spin Drip Café, echoed hopes to continue attending the event and activating the park for years to come.
Hong Ta (she/her) is a news writer from South Seattle and grew up going to the CID, specifically in Little Saigon. She graduated from the University of Puget Sound with degrees in Political Science and Spanish. You can read more of her work at thienhongta.com.
