Immigrant and refugee communities from different backgrounds and nationalities are coming together in Orange County, California to show that the power to defeat the forces of hate and fear is in our hands, in our words, and in our voices. On October 20, Vietnamese and Latinx youth are hosting a celebration of inclusion, compassion, and solidarity: “We Celebrate Sanctuary Here: Bring Human Rights Home!” -- a daylong community festival in the heart of historical Little Saigon in Orange County, California.  

OC’s own communities from Vietnam, El Salvador, Cambodia, and Mexico, have experienced first hand what happens when neighbors and elected officials enable anti-immigrant sentiment. Migrant concentration camps, racist threats and raids, and white supremacist hate groups – we’ve seen this before. And we know that the objective is to create fear. But we are not afraid. And on October 20, our youth come together to inspire us to imagine a different vision.  

Because we celebrate our migrant and refugee communities, we embrace love and inclusion, and honor each other’s cultures and legacies with courage and creativity in our hearts. With this cross-cultural festival, we are building toward what we know is possible - that all communities deserve dignity and human rights. And that we can achieve this together. We invite you to join us in song, culture, and arts to a festival that celebrates the true meaning of community and sanctuary - a place of safety and freedom, that honors and respects who you are or where you came from.

This event is free and open to the public.

Art activities and businesses to be announced shortly!

MUSIC LINE-UP:

Weapons of Mass Creation (Anaheim)
Los Jornaleros del Norte (Los Angeles)
DJ Nina Ross Nguyen (Garden Grove)
Son del Centro (Santa Ana)
Poet: Đỗ Nguyên Mai (Santa Clarita)
Poet: Scott Keltic Knot (OC)

Follow VietRISE on Facebook for updates and news about the event.

WANT TO GET INVOLVED?

→ Sign up to volunteer: bit.ly/communityfestvolunteer
→ Sign up for your organization or business to table at our festival: bit.ly/sanctuaryfestivalorgs
→ Want to sponsor the festival? Visit bit.ly/sanctuaryfestsponsorship! Your name(s) will be featured on our program during the festival.

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This event is organized by VietRISE and the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON).

Media inquiries: Tracy La - tracy@vietrise.org
Artist inquiries: Marco Loera - mloera@ndlon.org