Vietnamese Community of Minnesota

Established in 1981 by first-wave Vietnamese immigrants, Vietnamese Community of Minnesota (Cộng Đồng Người Việt Minnesota) is a non-profit organization that supports Vietnamese Minnesotans through cultural events, education, networking, and other initiatives. It holds multiple cultural events each year, aiming to preserve Vietnamese cultural heritage and promote cross-cultural relations with other Minnesota communities.

After the Fall of Saigon in 1975, Minnesota became one of the major host states for Vietnam War refugees through the Indochinese Refugee Resettlement Office. In 1981, the office was renamed the Refugee Programs Office, and in the same year, Phạm Văn Vy and other first-wave Vietnamese immigrants established Vietnamese Community of Minnesota (VCM) in the Twin Cities. VCM was created to preserve and enrich Vietnamese culture, to unify the state’s Vietnamese populations, and to foster cross-cultural cooperation and understanding. In 2004, VCM revised this mission to include advocacy for the socioeconomic influence and wellbeing of the Vietnamese community.

In the late 1980s, the effort to preserve the Vietnamese language and cultural heritage began in Minnesota. With VCM’s help, the state’s first Vietnamese church, St. Joseph Hiển in Minneapolis, and its first Vietnamese temple, Phật Ân Temple in Roseville, offered Vietnamese language classes to younger generations every Sunday after services. In 2013, due to growing demands for Vietnamese classes, a group of teachers founded the Vietnamese Language School—again with VCM support. (After Aŋpétu Téča Education Center opened in Roseville in 2021, the school began holding classes in the building.)

In addition to its educational efforts, VCM holds several cultural and networking events annually. Since 1981, the organization has hosted the Lunar New Year (Tết) Festival. The event has been held at various locations in Minnesota, including Union Depot in St. Paul and, more recently, Burnsville Center. The festival features traditional Vietnamese clothing (áo dài), cultural performances by Vietnamese musicians and entertainers, dragon dances, vendors, and children’s activities. VCM’s other annual community events—all of them open to the public—include the Spring Festival Fair, the Summer Festival, and tennis, soccer, and pickleball tournaments.

By 2023, the population of Vietnamese Minnesotans had grown to more than 33,000. Amid this growth, VCM began hosting small gatherings as well as large events, and providing resources to the community. In August 2023, the organization created the VCM Senior Group, which hosted senior meetings biweekly at its office. (After the office building was sold in 2024, VCM relocated these meetings to a rented park facility in Brooklyn Park.) The Senior Group allows seniors in the community to socialize, access resources and information, and participate in activities tailored to their interests and needs.

In August 2023, Tri Tang was elected the president of VCM. Over the next two years, his leadership strengthened the organization’s community activities and outreach through collaboration with other Vietnamese organizations in Minnesota, including Vietnamese Social Services, the Vietnamese Language School, Vietnamese student associations, and Vietnamese veterans organizations.

April 30, 2025, marked fifty years since the end of the Vietnam War. In response, VCM held a Black April (Tháng Tư Đen) commemoration event at the Minnesota State Capitol. A flag-carrying event took place, and Vietnam War veterans and their families attended. Leaders of the organization also traveled to Washington, DC, to further the organization’s efforts for the federal recognition and support of Vietnam War veterans.

Also in 2025, the Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans (CAPM) honored VCM with an Outstanding Service Award for its leadership, service, and impact across communities. Later that year, in an effort to preserve the history of Vietnamese in Minnesota and strengthen the community, the organization supported the establishment of the Vietnamese Minnesotan Museum.

The organization has also collaborated with communities and institutions outside of the community: other Asian communities in Minnesota, Minnesota legislators, the Minnesota Humanities Center, and the Minnesota Historical Society. These collaboration efforts seek to unite and strengthen the community’s partnerships and identity.

As of 2026, VCM has yet to secure a permanent location and operates with the help of volunteers. Over the past two years, it has advocated for state funding from the state of Minnesota. It shares this effort to gain state recognition and cultural funding with other Southeast Asian communities, such as Cambodians and Laotians, affected by the Vietnam War and the Laotian Civil War.