Growing up, Alena Nguyen, co-cultural chair for the Vietnamese Student Association (VSA), connected to her Vietnamese roots by watching skits about her culture. Through the vivid theatrical performance, Nguyen and many members of VSA learned about Vietnamese folklore and traditions. These productions made her feel connected to her heritage while being away from Vietnam.
VSA is adapting that learning experience for the audience at their annual cultural night.
The theme for this event comes from the Vietnamese phrase “Ngày Xửa Ngày Xưa,” which is the title of a Vietnamese skit show that many of the club’s members remember fondly and wish to replicate for a greater community. According to VSA Co-President Kori Nakagawa, the skit being recreated is based on a story similar to Disney’s “Cinderella,” but set in ancient Vietnam.
“It's a nostalgic story from growing up, and we want to bring that nostalgia back to the adults in the audience and the college students who are performing it,” Nakagawa said. “We’re bringing back a childhood story we all grew up knowing, but with a Vietnamese take on it.”
VSA’s cultural night, entitled “Hello Việt Nam 2025: Ngày Xửa Ngày Xưa (Once Upon A Time),” is set to showcase Vietnamese culture on April 11 inside Chiles Center. Tickets are currently available online for $13. Doors for the event open at 4:30 p.m., and the performance starts at 6 p.m.
Preparations for the event started last year, with the VSA’s board deciding on the event’s theme and the cultural chairs, Nguyen and Vivian Pham, writing the script over the summer. Skits capture many elements of Vietnamese culture, making them a great way to showcase the club’s culture to others, according to Pham.
“Our culture has a very vivid way of storytelling,” Pham said. “It's very theatrical and comedic.”
Traditional dances, like the lion dance, will be incorporated into the skit. The lion dance, also sometimes called a dragon dance, is a traditional form of Vietnamese storytelling characterized by two dancers in colorful and elaborate costumes working together to imitate a lion. The dance is said to bring people prosperity and good fortune.
Additionally, the food provided at the event will feature traditional Vietnamese dishes, with vegetarian options for those observing Lent. The menu will be catered by local restaurant Pho Gia and Bon Appetit.
There will also be a raffle for attendees to participate in. Prizes range from an air fryer to a pair of Sony WF-1000XM4 headphones. Additionally, local vendors, some of whom are former VSA members, will be selling a variety of handmade items like stickers and custom artwork.
Participants have been working tirelessly to prepare for the event, with weekly dance rehearsals taking place since the start of the semester, according to Nakagawa.
“I'm just excited for the audience to really see the hard work that our members have been putting in for this whole semester,” Nakagawa said. “It's nice to finally see the whole show come together. We’ve poured our sweat, blood and tears into it, so it's nice to feel relieved that we finally made it to our end goal.”
More information about the club and the event can be found on VSA’s Instagram page.
Samantha Zavala is a news reporter for The Beacon. She can be reached at zavala27@up.edu.
