Its annual fall festival draws up to 40,000 and supports faith, culture, and church growth. Our Holy Vietnamese Martyrs Catholic Church broke ground in 2005 to accommodate a growing population of Vietnamese Catholics in the Atlanta metropolitan area. Despite selecting a new, larger location for worship, our congregation continued to grow at great pace. With over 4,000 parishioners, our services began to crowd and our classrooms overflowed. It became apparent that a new, larger church needed to be constructed to replace the buildings that were being used. The first fundraising festival was organized on January 24 and 25 of 2009. It was opened as Hoi Cho Mua Xuan 2009, translated as '2009 Spring Festival.' The two-day event's purpose was to fundraise for the development and construction of a new church; and to celebrate the Vietnamesecultural heritage, the 'Tet' Lunar New Year. With over 10,000 festival attendees the first time around, we planned another festival for the Fall of 2009. Hoi Cho Mua Thu 2009 ('2009 Fall Festival'), a three-day event, brought in an astonishing 20,000 attendees! After many observations and studies, core festival organizers decided to establish an annual three-day fall festival, taking advantage of the convenience of the Labor Day weekend. By 2023, based on a Gwinnett County Police survey, close to 40,000 people attended the fall festival that year. Today, our Church's annual fall festival is recognized by Vietnamese communities nation-wide, and is a main staple of Vietnamese Catholic communities in the Southeast United States. We help reunite families and friends, we teach our children and guests our Vietnamese heritage, and we contribute to the vibrancy of the region's cultural and faith communities. The dream and the prayers of parishioners became a reality on Nov. 28, 2019 when an estimated 4,000 people witnessed the dedication of the Holy Vietnamese Martyrs Church, a towering building with roofs of sweeping overhanging eaves. It seats about 1,500 with church goers filling every seat on the former car dealership campus from the old church building that was connected to the social hall. Bishop Joel M. Konzen, SM, diocesan administrator, led the Thanksgiving Mass and dedication, along with approximately 30 priests, including Vietnamese clergymen from around the country. We invite you to come join us for our 2025 Fall Festival this August 29, 20 and 31, to enjoy our diverse music, our delicious food, and our rich culture. Please come and support us as we continue to raise funds towards the improvement old buildings, and building new facilities and programs to develop our faith and Vietnamese culture.
