LANCASTER,PA—On Saturday, January 31, 2026, over 200 people from every corner of Lancaster and beyond gathered at the Ware Center for the Arts to honor the stories of the Vietnamese refugees who have helped to shape our community and our nation.
This country’s collective memory of the Vietnam War is often shaped by American military involvement. It is easy to forget that over 2 million refugees fled Vietnam after the war, and that many of them, after harrowing and dangerous journeys across the ocean, began new lives in local communities. Their resilience is woven into the fabric of the nation, and their stories deserve to be told—in their own words.
Our Journeys: A Traveling Exhibition, created by Vietnamese Boat People (VBP), brings these forgotten stories to life through oral histories, personal artifacts, photographs, and interactive elements. The exhibition invites visitors to slow down, look, listen, and even breathe in scents that evoke powerful memories of migration, loss, and hope that continue to shape Vietnamese American families across generations.
Photos by Taylor Ann Photography
The opening night of Our Journeys was hailed as both “heartbreaking and inspiring,” honoring both collective history and local voices. Stories contributed by Alys Truong, Mai Nguyen Yeager, Ho-Thanh Nguyen, and Thuat Nham grounded the nationally touring exhibition in lived experiences from the region, reminding guests that these stories are alive and present in their communities today, while powerful remarks by VBP Founder Tracey Nguyen Mang emphasized the importance of reclaiming one’s own narrative.
The reception also celebrated community through artwork by local Asian American artists Libby Etheridge, Wendy Li yuen-Ting, Yen Elizabeth Keener, Aron Rook, Vu Quoc Nguyen, and Bri Nguyen, traditional Vietnamese dresses curated by Julia Cao, Vietnamese cuisine from the Sprout of Rice & Noodles family, a moving musical performance by Lê Thanh Trúc (Panda), and an emotional story of family legacy and sacrifice told by Maian McCauley.
“The opening reception set the tone for what the exhibition continues to offer throughout its run,” said Bri Nguyen in a social media post about the event. “Not spectacle, but presence. Not distance, but connection.”
Our Journeys: A Traveling Exhibition is on display at the Ware Center for the Arts through February 28, weekdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., offered free and open to the public. All are invited to come sit with these powerful memories, to reflect on their family’s journey, and to add their own stories to this important conversation.
Our Journeys is presented in partnership with the Lancaster County Community Foundation and the Lancaster Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders – LAAPI.