KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE BALL. Young people played a ball-toss game at a previous Hmong New Year celebration at UW-Eau Claire's McPhee Center. (Photo by Andrea Paulseth)

After a hiatus of five years, Eau Claire’s Hmong New Year celebration will return this fall, with a new venue likely playing host to two days of music, food, dancing, and exhibitions of Hmong culture.

The event is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 26-27, and will most likely be held at UW-Eau Claire’s Sonnentag Event Center, although the final contract with the venue hasn’t been signed.

“There’s been a really big anticipation for the New Year coming back to Eau Claire,” said Lar Kong Xiong, who is part of the committee planning the event as well as president of the board of the Eau Claire Area Hmong Mutual Assistance Association.

Eau Claire’s last community-wide Hmong New Year celebration was in November 2019, just a few months before COVID-19 hit. Because of the pandemic, the following year the Hmong Association’s leaders thought it would be best to hold off on planning a large-scale event. After that, finding an appropriate venue became a challenge, organizers said.

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It means more now than ever before because it’s been so long.

LAR KONG XIONG

committee member, on eau claire's hmong new year celebration

Recently, however, the staff and board members of the Hmong Association have decided to re-establish the event. “The people who came together are passionate community professionals,” explained Khoua Vang, chairwoman of the New Year committee and principal of Locust Lane Elementary School. They recognized that the thousands of Hmong residents of the Chippewa Valley – as well as their non-Hmong neighbors – are eager to mark the New Year again.

“The Hmong New Year is a celebration of the culmination of our bountiful harvest,” Vang explained. The holiday allows Hmong people to reconnect with their culture as well as to share that culture with their children and the broader community, she said.

A committee recently began meeting to revive Eau Claire's Hmong New Year celebration, a previously annual event which hasn't been held since 2019. (Photo by Ma Vue)

The New Year celebration has deep roots in Hmong culture in Southeast Asia, where it marked the end of the harvest season. “This was the most exciting time of the year for my mom,” Vang said, reflecting on her mother’s youth in Laos. At New Year gatherings, young people would be able show off new clothing, play with friends, and even meet potential mates through the ball-toss game.

What can attendees expect in October? As in past years, the celebration will feature beloved Hmong food and music, cultural exhibits, dance competitions, vendors, and much more.

“This is what makes us Hmong – all these traditions,” Xiong said.

Participants can also expect vendors from Hmong communities in La Crosse, Wausau, the Twin Cities, and beyond.

Xiong said that following the pandemic, Hmong New Year celebrations in other cities drew record-breaking attendance, and he’s confident the same will occur in Eau Claire because of pent-up demand. In the past, Eau Claire’s event drew 2,000 to 3,000 attendees, and he thinks that many or more could come this fall.

Organizers emphasized they will be in need of volunteers, sponsors, and donors to make the event's comeback a success. Xiong hopes for support from both Hmong and non-Hmong businesses, noting that the event will attract visitors – and therefore economic activity – to the community.

Now, organizers are faced with the challenges of putting together a major event, mostly notably securing sponsorships from individuals and organizations. While in the past the event had an admission fee, “The main goal this year is to make it a free event,” he said.

Organizers emphasized they will be in need of volunteers, sponsors, and donors to make the event’s comeback a success. Xiong hopes for support from both Hmong and non-Hmong businesses, noting that the event will attract visitors – and therefore economic activity – to the community.

Xiong noted that next year will be the 50th anniversary of the arrival of the first Hmong residents in the Chippewa Valley, who came to the United States as refugees after aiding U.S. forces during the Vietnam conflict. Hmong New Year celebrations in Eau Claire began as small parties and picnics and gradually grew into community-wide gatherings, most recently at the YMCA Indoor Sports Center in 2019.

“It means more now than ever before because it’s been so long,” Xiong said.

Interested in partnering with or sponsoring the upcoming Eau Claire Hmong New Year celebration? Contact True Vue, executive director of the Eau Claire Area Hmong Mutual Assistance Association, at truevue@ecahmaa.org.