Tet Festival, Costa Mesa

Hosted by the Union of Vietnamese Student Associations of Southern California for the past 39 years, the UVSA Tet Festival celebrates Vietnamese culture across three full days of fun. The festival coincides with the Vietnamese Lunar New Year and is packed with things to do, see, and try, from performances and contests to authentic Vietnamese food. Here's what to expect each day of the festival:

• Friday: The festival will begin in elegant fashion on the first night as the main stage hosts the Miss Vietnam of Southern California pageant. In the festival's cultural village, there will be a bamboo-raising ceremony, an OC Shaolin Temple performance, a pho eating contest (round one), and a karaoke sing-a-long.

• Saturday: On the main stage, an opening ceremony will kick things off with a mesmerizing firecracker display followed by a hip-hop dance competition. The cultural village, meanwhile, will host community performances, a floral arrangement contest, and pho eating contests (rounds two and three).

• Sunday: A children's pageant will get things started on the final day, and a grand concert will close out the weekend on Sunday evening. Lion dancing, a spring wedding, and the final rounds of the pho eating contest will keep the party going in the cultural village.