The University of Wisconsin Hmong American Students Association hosted its 6th annual Hmong New Year celebration at Memorial Union’s Great Hall Sunday.
According to the Wisconsin Hmong Association, Hmong New Year — traditionally celebrated at the end of December — serves as a time for families to celebrate new beginnings with food, dancing and games.
HASA’s event, which was organized in collaboration with the Wisconsin Union Directorate Global Connection Committee, invited attendees to wear formal or cultural attire, and included dance performances, food and Hmong trivia.
“I think the best part of the festival is just to see the Hmong community and all the Hmong students come together, and, honestly, seeing the performances and eating the good food,” UW junior Shiann Her said.
The event’s keynote speaker was Hmong American Center Executive Director Yee Leng Xiong.
In his speech, Xiong recounted the history of the Hmong people. He emphasized their courage in the face of oppression and the insistent resilience that has allowed the Hmong people to thrive in the U.S. and Wisconsin.
“Today we stand witness to their remarkable accomplishments in various fields including businesses, education, politics, and community engagement. In Wausau, Wisconsin alone, the Hmong community has made significant strides in the business sector. In the Hmong community across the state we have become pioneers in several business sectors,” Xiong said.
Following Xiong’s address, a lineup of dance troupes took the ballroom stage, providing entertainment for the event.
Vivid Dance Crew, a Madison-based K-pop dance team, kicked off the show with three hip-hop routines. Vivid member Erin Caldwell said the group performs for various Asian Registered Student Organizations at UW.
The South East Asian Dance Organization then performed traditional Hmong dance routines. Their performance was anticipated as a pinnacle moment in the evening’s celebration by many attendees.
Other performers at HASA’s Hmong New Year included Chi Sigma Tau, the Vietnamese Student Association Dance Team, Wisconsin Rangde, Kasper, Sigma Psi Zeta and Delta Phi Lambda.
The event featured catering from S&B Hmong Kitchen, though food distribution was moved from outside of Memorial Union’s Great Hall to Park Street due to restrictions on serving unpackaged food at the venue.
The event concluded with a group dance where all attendees were invited to travel around the room in a circle — a style of dance called Salavong — to Salavan Los Mas by Maim Lis.
“We hope everyone enjoyed learning about our history, playing trivia, watching the performances, and socializing,” HASA said in a social media post shortly after the event.
Editor’s note: This article was updated to include more information about the Salavong dance performance at the end of the event.
