On Saturday, May 9, 2015, as part of Clarendon’s Neighborhood Day celebration, the Arlington County Board, county staff, local artists and students, and members of the Vietnamese community will participate in a special program to honor Clarendon’s Vietnamese history, particularly the period of the late 1970s and 1980s when it was known as “Little Saigon.”

All are invited to take part in this special event that will include a hands-on public art activity and self-guided smartphone tours of historic buildings that were once part of Little Saigon.

Here are the details:

Echoes of Little Saigon
1:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Clarendon Central Park at Clarendon Metro
3140 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA 22201
Free

Activities include:
1:00 p.m. — County Board Proclamation and Special Guest Speakers
1:30 p.m. — Walking Tour Narrated by former Little Saigon Community Members

Throughout the event, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.:
— Presentation of temporary public art and hands-on art activities by artist Khánh H. Lê*
— Self-Guided Smartphone Tours
— Lemongrass Food Truck onsite selling Vietnamese cuisine

This event is sponsored by the Arlington County Historic Preservation Program, Arlington Public Art, Virginia Tech’s Urban Affairs & Planning in the School of Public & International Affairs, Arlington Department of Parks and Recreation, and Clarendon Alliance.

It is part of an ongoing effort to record and preserve the contributions of the Vietnamese community during this period, including the collection of several oral history interviews, for which Preservation Arlington was a sponsor last fall. Preservation Arlington will have more coverage related to the 40th anniversary of the fall of Saigon leading up to this event.

For more information on this project, visit www.littlesaigonclarendon.com.

* Le’s work will also be featured on certain ART bus routes as part of the Art on the ART Bus program.