News Release

Buu Mon Buddhist Temple

2701 Procter St. Port Arthur, TX

10^th Annual Lotus and Bamboo Festival / Buddha’s Birthday Celebration (Vesak)

June 7^th and 8^th, 2008 9:30 am till 6:00 pm

Port Arthur’s Buu Mon Buddhist Temple invites you to our 10^th Annual Lotus and Bamboo Festival and Buddha’s Birthday Celebration (Vesak) on Saturday and Sunday the 7^th and 8^th of June 2008 from 9:30 am until 6:00 pm. This year’s slogan is; “A Glimpse of Southeast Asia in Southeast Texas”

Buu Mon Buddhist Temple has combined this year’s Annual Lotus Festival with the Bamboo Festival. We are once again pleased to have the Texas Bamboo Society participating and sharing their knowledge of bamboo and the bamboo culture. They will be giving lectures on bamboo throughout the weekend. A schedule of the day and time of the festivals lectures and activities can be at www.buumon.org.

The following lectures and activities are planned. Terri Looney of the Texas A & M Agricultural Research Center will be sharing her knowledge on ponds. Bhante Kassapa will be discussing tea and its preparation, as well as having tea available for purchase. Most Venerable Thich Huyen Viet, Abbot of the Buu Mon Buddhist Temple, will have a walking tour of the gardens pointing out various tropical plants and sharing with garden visitors the history of the temple gardens. In addition, Jay Cockrell associated with Doguet’s Rice Milling Co. of Beaumont, Texas will be lecturing on organic gardening. Ancient Martial Arts of Port Arthur, Texas, under the leadership of Master Allen King, will demonstrate various types and forms of self-defense taught at their local martial arts school on Saturday, June 7^th. On Sunday, June 8^th, Grandmaster Van Binh and students of the Self-Defense Academy of Houston, TX will demonstrate their martial arts skills. This year’s festival offers the visitor two days of very exciting presentations by established martial arts practitioners.

There will be variety of vendors both days. The Buu Mon Meditation group will sponsor a food booth, as well as, arts and crafts booths. Additionally there will be bamboo crafts available through Carole Meckes of Austin, Texas. Several vendors from the Texas Bamboo Society will be selling bamboo plants and vendors with Moso bamboo poles also available for purchase. The visitors will be able to enjoy traditional Vietnamese cuisine prepared by the temple’s parishioners and purchase a variety of items such as t-shirts, jewelry, and refreshments from the Buu Mon Youth Group and Lion and Dragon Dance Group. The AmeriCorps*NCCC will be assisting visitors in the gardens throughout the weekend. At different times during the weekend, live music will be performed by Samsara for musical enjoyment.

There are four gardens surrounding the temple and they are home to over 30 varieties of lotuses and 20 varieties of hardy and tropical water lilies, as well as, over 30 varieties of bamboo. Some of the bamboo is able to reach heights of up to 80 feet. In addition to the lotus, water lilies, and bamboo, the gardens include a large variety of tropical fruit trees and various plants. This year Bhante Kassapa will have on display bonsai trees. They have been grown for purchase by donation for the temple.

On Sunday June 8^th, we will celebrate Vesak, Buddha’s Birthday, in the temple’s main hall from 1:30 pm till 3:30 pm. The celebration honors Lord Sakyamuni Buddha’s birth, life and death. At this time of year the Venerable monks from Buu Mon Temple and visiting monks from other temples come to chant and pray to pay homage to the Buddha. There will be speeches by resident and visiting monks and as well as local government officials. All are welcome to join in the celebration. The gardens will be open that day as well.

We invite you, your families and loved ones and friends to come and see the gardens, marvel at the beauty of the blooming lotus and lily flowers. Enjoy the many varieties of bamboo and obtain advice and tips for your own home garden from the experts that will be available in the gardens. There will be ample opportunities to purchase the flowers and bamboo of your choosing. You may also sample Traditional Vietnamese food, enjoy The Lion and Dragon Dance and other traditional folk dances.

Please come and enjoy the gardens and festival and take lots of pictures.

For more information, please call Reverend Huyen Viet at (409) 960-1462, Bhante n. Kassapa at (409) 960-8369, Danny Dubuisson at (409) 982-9199 or the temple office at (409) 982-9319. You can email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Please visit our web site at www.buumon.org. You can contact Judith and Jim Bussey with the Texas Bamboo Society at (409) 379-8156 or email then at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

We look forward to seeing you at this year’s festival!