Nicole Robinson

Multitudes of excited people occupied the Ade Olson Addition in McPhee this weekend, as the sound of music and smell of food filled the air. Eager people of all ages jockeyed for position at the door, anticipating the entertainment that awaited them inside.

But this was no sporting event – it was the Hmong New Year, a celebration of culture and community that is extremely important to the Hmong people, said Charles Vue, coordinator of Hmong and Southeast Asian affairs for UW-Eau Claire.

“It’s a time when the Hmong people can come and celebrate with family, and eat and see entertainment,” Vue said, comparing the event to the American hype over Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

The event ran from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Booths offering traditional food, various merchandise, information and even financial services circled the indoor track upstairs.

The floor below was lined with chairs facing a large stage where traditional songs and dances were performed.

Single Hmong people also enjoyed a ball-tossing game called Pov Pob.

Hmong men, women and children wore elaborately decorated traditional clothing, which at one time was worn day-to-day by the Hmong people.

As a university employee and member of the Hmong community, Vue provides communication between the two, helping to effectively coordinate the event.

Actual organization of the New Year celebration is done by the Hmong Community’s New Year Committee, he said.

And organizing the event is no small feat, Vue said.

He estimated that 80 to 90 percent of the Eau Claire-area Hmong population participated in the weekend festivities – a sizable amount of people, considering the Hmong population currently numbers around 2,000 and is constantly increasing.

Traditionally, the importance of the Hmong New Year was rivaled only by weddings, because it was a break from the harvest for farmers.

“They would feast for days at a time, enjoying the company of friends and family,” Vue said.

Today, the Hmong calendar is not aligned with the American calendar, and New Year celebrations can be held as early as September and as late as January.

The Hmong community is impacting the area in more ways than just its annual New Year celebration. The Hmong people are contributors to the Eau Claire community and also are increasingly enrolling at the university.

Senior Shao Lee works for the Eau Claire Area Hmong Mutual Assistance Association as the tobacco prevention coordinator. She spent much of her weekend working an information booth on tobacco prevention while enjoying the celebration.

Lee said she cherishes the gathering of the Hmong people for the New Year celebration.

“It’s two special days where young kids and adults come together,” Lee said.

Despite the increasingly prominent Hmong population in the Eau Claire area, Lee said she hopes to see more Hmong youths attending the university.

“I’m usually the only Hmong in my classes,” she said.

“I’d like to see more.”