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Nhu, played by Pham Thi Yen (second from right), announces her engagement during dinner in Vietna

When thousands of refugees came to America after the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, they vowed not to forget the 4,000 years of culture they brought with them.

As part of this effort to celebrate Vietnamese-American heritage, the Vietnamese Student Union presented their 26th annual Vietnamese Culture Night in Royce Hall on Monday night.

The show explores a different aspect of Vietnamese-American culture every year. Titled “Family Portrait: Buc Anh Gia Dinh,” this year’s show focused on a family’s adaptation to living in the United States.

“The plot revolves around refugees in the 1980s encountering problems with the transition between cultures and generations,” said Hanh Tu, VCN finance manager. “Because it’s a great chance to expose the UCLA community, both Vietnamese and non-Vietnamese, to our heritage, we wanted to produce a show that students can relate to.”

The family theme was particularly effective in reaching members of the audience unfamiliar with Vietnamese culture, said Judy Luong, VCN co-coordinator.

“We chose family because it was something important to us growing up,” Luong said. “Especially in Vietnamese culture, family is extremely important because they are the ones who are always there and really drive you. Vietnamese Americans don’t always know about culture, but everyone can relate to the experience of family.”

VCN effectively communicated the many facets of being multicultural, said second-year biology student Anna Vu.

“VCN always does a good job of representing Vietnamese culture and how students in our generation relate to our heritage,” Vu said. “I like how they convey the importance of carrying on traditions because Vietnamese heritage brings something different to just being American.”

Luong said that VCN both contributes to diversity at UCLA as well as reminds all students of their own history.

“Some elements are specific to being Vietnamese and some are universal, but the message is that it’s important that all people have culture,” Luong said. “Your history allows you to do better and strive. Knowing your culture empowers your life and allows you to do so much more.”

First-year biology student Tyler Phan said that he decided to take part in the show to become more in touch with his culture.

“Even though I’m Vietnamese American, I’m still Vietnamese, so this was a great experience for me,” Phan said.

Rehearsals for the more than 120 participants began in November, Luong said.

“After seeing the show, I was just blown away by how talented these people are,” Luong said. “I saw such a progression through all the hard work everyone did in the rehearsals. It’s amazing to see them come so far from where they started out at the beginning.”

First-year student Thira Gilbert said that VCN was enjoyable even though she had no previous knowledge of Vietnamese culture.

“I would have thought that this was something only for Vietnamese students, but I found it really interesting to see how Vietnamese and American traditions come together,” Gilbert said.