The UW-Eau Claire campus will see the return of the Hmong New Year at McPhee, Saturday and Sunday.

The celebration is a time for people to come together, Student Services Coordinator Charles Vue said.

“For us the New Year is similar to your Thanksgiving,” he said. “There will be relatives and friends from the Twin Cities and Wisconsin cities in Eau Claire for the celebration.”

Hmong Student Association president and senior Chu Lee agreed with Vue. She said the New Year gives people a chance for “visiting and reuniting with relatives.” She added that the celebration is also a learning opportunity for her.

“For me, this celebration is a time where I can learn more about my own culture, because I was raised here,” Lee said.

Those celebrating the New Year also pay respect to their ancestors, said Locust Lane Elementary principal Kaying Xiong, who teaches a course in Hmong culture at the university.

“Usually a large feast is eaten in each Hmong family’s home,” she said, “and friends and relatives are always invited.”

The celebration consists of various activities.

One that young people look forward to is the “pov pob,” a ball tossing game designed as “a way of dating,” Vue said.

Lee described an event called the “li qab.”

“(The event) is where everyone walks in a circle as the shaman is saying a chant with a chicken,” she said. “This brings in good luck spirits for the new year.”

The celebration will also have traditional Hmong dancers and individuals who sing the traditional Hmong song, “kwv txhiaj,” Lee said. It is an improvised song with at least two stanzas that rhyme at the end of each stanza.

In addition to activities the New Year celebration will have vendors selling Hmong arts, clothes, movies, music, food and children’s toys, Vue said.

Methods have been taken to ensure that attendees are safe.

Both the Hmong Mutual Assistance Association and the Hmong Student Association, which is helping with security at this year’s function, have requested that metal detectors be installed for the event, said University Police Chief David Backstrom.

The metal detectors were installed to “see that no weapons are brought in,” he said.

He added that the metal detectors are also a response to a shooting eight years ago that occurred when the celebration was held in Altoona. The event has been at McPhee since then.

“McPhee is seen as the safest place (to hold the event),” he said.

The university community is supportive of the New Year celebration, Xiong said.

“UWEC has been a great partner in the last couple of years,” she said.

The community is welcome to attend, Lee said.

“(The celebration) gives others a chance to know about the Hmong culture and traditions,” she said. “It also lets the community get acquainted with the Hmong community in Eau Claire.”