Vietnamese New Year vs. Environmental Expo

By Chris Faraone

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Environmentalists can learn a thing or three from Boston's Vietnamese community. Renewable energy specialists and hemp farmers patted each other on the back at last weekend's Going Green Expo. But their neighbors at the Bayside Expo Center who were celebrating Tet—the Vietnamese New Year—tore the place up.

People entering the Expo Center last Saturday had a tough choice. To the right, for 10 dollars, they could take a picture on a Waste Management dump truck, watch free spirits make pottery, and wait in line for veggie fare. To the left, for five dollars, they could snap shots of sexy women, purchase bagsful of cheap imported plastic goods, and gobble down noodles, wings and pastries.

The green organizers tried their best. In addition to the usual ecological profiteers, opportunistic developers and Ben & Jerry's, they had people slinging everything from flushable diapers to preservative-free chewing gum. At the "Cook for Life with Kitchen Craft" booth, an apron-clad salesman diced onions and served canned jokes. Holding up his "Kitchen Kutter" food processor, he quipped: "People ask me every day if they can cut themselves with this. I always say 'yes, but I don't recommend it.'"

Despite eclectic offerings and appearances from environmental icons like Mayor Menino, attendance at the trend fest paled in comparison to the throngs who attended the 32nd Annual Tet in Boston Festival.

There, children enjoyed a range of attractions, from temporary tattoo and video game booths to a ping-pong corner and two moonwalks. Vietnamese heartthrob Truong Trieu Vu wooed women with some high notes, while men of all ages swarmed around the poker and roulette tables.

In the Tet in Boston advertising book, a letter of regret from the White House Deputy Assistant to the President Melissa Bennett stated: "Thank you for your letter inviting President Bush ... unfortunately, we have had to make some difficult decisions regarding the President's schedule ... [he] sincerely appreciates your thoughtfulness in writing and sends his best wishes." Judging by his response, it's likely that the president was not aware of the opportunity to partake in a massive foam plate and plastic cup extravaganza just feet away from a few hundred tree-huggers and recycle-happy hippies.