A New Year Dawns for the Duluth Hmong Community
Hmong UMD students were at the event and performed a traditional dance for the crowd
DULUTH, Minn — Meanwhile in Duluth, community members gathered to celebrate the Hmong New Year.
The free event was open to the public and was hosted at Coppertop Church. Traditional food was available after the hour long program where Hmong community members performed traditional New Year songs, dances, and even a clothing show.
The Hmong in Minnesota came as refugees from the Vietnam War and now put on the local celebration annually. The pandemic did put the event on hold, meaning this was everyone’s first year back, and the turnout was better than ever.
“Yeah, it’s amazing.” Said Levi Yang, a coach for Hmong Living in Unity and Balance (HLUB), “It’s great to have the whole community come and join us in celebration of the Hmong New Year. We just got done celebrating and showing the Hmong culture to the community. There’s not a lot of times that everybody comes and learns about the Hmong culture because not a lot of people know who the Hmong people are.”
Members from local Hmong organizations, including UMD students, were at the event and even performed a traditional dance for the crowd. Multiple sponsors also gifted donations for the event and the food was prepared by community elders.