When Enemy Becomes Friend: Exploring the U.S - Vietnam Friendship Festival in Da Nang, Viet Nam

These days, in summer time like this, Da Nang is full of festivals, honestly, it feels like something is happening almost every day. If you're into vibrant, energetic beach cities, then Da Nang is the place for you! Today, I want to take you along to explore a special and rather unusual festival celebrating 30 years of friendship between Vietnam and the United States. It was held in a spacious, quiet, and beautiful area that instantly made me feel calm and excited at the same time.

I almost didn’t go. I was feeling a bit lazy, and also felt kinda serious about the event. But curiosity got the best of me. What if it’s something interesting? So I arrived an hour late. 😅
When I got there, it seemed like not many people knew about the festival or maybe they just weren’t interested 😂. The place wasn’t crowded at all, which I personally enjoyed.

The layout was split into two main sections: one for Vietnamese stalls and game zone, and one for U.S stalls and their game zone. I started with the Vietnam section.
Right away, I saw a coffee stall, of course, Vietnam is world famous for its strong and flavorful coffee.

Then I came across a few souvenir booths, featuring beautifully decorated nón lá (conical hats) with designs like the Vietnamese flag, flowers, watermelons, and more. There were also tote bags and handmade items showcasing Da Nang symbols like the Dragon Bridge and Han Bridge.

Some schools had their fundraising booths for charitable projects by selling Vietnamese traditional food like: goi cuon,banh mi,banh beo,..

I even found a bakery stall offering gorgeous mooncakes in festive packaging. I passed on those this time. Since I live in Vietnam and eat mooncakes every season, but they looked tempting.

I ended the Vietnamese side with a game zone. Lots of kids were enjoying statue painting and interactive booths. A few others joined in on traditional dances. They seemed happy. And these happy, peaceful moments make me happy too.

Then I heard music and cheering from the main stage. Turns out, students were performing. I stayed to enjoy a few Vietnamese and English songs, a lovely group dance, and a traditional Vietnamese instrument performance. Their passion and talent were honestly impressive.

After enjoying many energetic performances, I felt hungry and started to explore the US section.

Because I was hungry so I kinda went through quite fast this side. There were few English centers, some booths shared about the history of Viet Nam - US and US journey of reconciliation and healing after the war.

Then the smell of food came. I couldn't resist! I spotted booths serving New York-style pizza, Texas BBQ, and more stalls.

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I chose the Texas BBQ one named Dirty Fingers because I heard they have good food.

I ordered a pulled pork mini burger, a grilled corn, and a sausage. I think that was enough for me. I found a place to sit and enjoy them. The corn blew me away, so sweet and juicy, fresh. I didn’t expect that it could be that good with cheese and some kind of sauce I don’t know.

And the sausage with cajun flavor, omg, super juicy and flavorful. And even the mini burger, don’t underestimate the size of it, it is so delicious with tender pullpork. I don’t know what to say, it was a perfect snack for me in the afternoon, totally hit the spot.

Now that I have my energy back, I decided to try some games before heading home.
I tried ring toss. I thought I could easily get them, but no, it wasn’t that easy like I thought. I only got 2 rings on after playing for a while 😂

Next, baseball, kinda challenging but many people were in line. I will try because I have never played it before. Everyone got 3 times to throw. And guess what, I landed 2 out of 3! Crazy, isn’t it?

With my game points, I redeemed a notebook as a gift. I was hoping for a tote bag, but a notebook is still nice 😂

I think that’s enough fun for me, I should go home to prepare dinner.
Oh wait, I think I forgot something, yes ice cream. I heard the people at the stall keep shouting: ‘’American ice cream, come, come enjoy!”

Alright, I got a cookie ice cream. It was yummy and comfortable.

I left the festival with a happy belly and a happy heart. I loved that it wasn’t too crowded and everything felt super chill.

Honestly, I didn’t come with the goal of learning deeply about U.S and Vietnam relations or anything too serious. I just wanted to enjoy the moment, and I totally did. I probably missed a few parts of the festival, but I hope you enjoy it the way I enjoyed it through my eyes.

Thank you for reading and sending love from Viet Nam. Have a great day everyone!
All photos were taken by me.