Madison College is hosting a celebration of the Hmong New Year
on Saturday, Dec. 3, 1-5 p.m. at the Truax Campus.
“The Hmong New Year celebration will really be a great opportunity to just have fun, celebrate, and share our Hmong culture with everyone else,” Masaya Xiong, community engagement coordinator at Madison College, tells Madison365.
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There will be cultural dance, instrument performers and other artists along with Hmong-owned vendors selling food and goods, a ball toss game and family activities for all ages in what Xiong describes will be a “staggered type of schedule.”
“We’ll have community resources and activities for the public to participate in and to receive information from 1-2 p.m. and then from 3-4 p.m.,” Xiong says. “The other piece of the event will be focusing on entertainment and our performances. So from 2-3 p.m. and then 4-5 p.m., we have a lineup of various cultural performances. We have some groups that are coming from outside of Dane County, and we have some that are in-house as well.”
Performers will include Kevin Yang, Leej Muam Hmoob, Mason Her ,Ntxhais Qaum Ntuj, Leng Yang, Mary Thao and Jor Vang.
“It’s going to be a great opportunity for the public to have a chance to just see some great performances,” Xiong says.
Recently, Madison’s annual Hmong New Year celebration on Nov. 5 & 6 saw thousands and thousands of community members converge on the Alliant Energy Center on Nov. 5-6 and included a Miss Grand Hmong pageant competition.
“I know that the Madison Hmong New Year just had their big event earlier in November,” Xiong says. “So we’re gonna do a little bit of a shout out to some of our pageant participants as we had four of them that came from Madison College and participated in the pageant. We’re just gonna give them a nice shout-out, thanking them for their service and for continuing this tradition.
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“A lot of our community resources at Saturday’s event are really focused on those who are serving our community or have the desire to work with our Hmong community. We have activities like ball tossing and folks that will be leading dance demonstrations allowing the community to participate,” Xiong adds. “We will have folks that will be putting clothes on mannequins to help the community to understand how we layer our clothes and why we choose our clothes and where some our clothes come from.”
The Hmong New Year is traditionally a celebration that lasts for 10 days but has been shortened in America. Participants dress in traditional Hmong clothing and enjoy traditional food, dance and music. Xiong says that it’s a celebration for Madison’s Hmong population, but also the greater community, as well.
“This is an event for everyone. At Madison College, we are an educational institution and so we’re really about helping our community understand a little bit more about our culture and the celebrations and the things that are really meaningful to us,” she says. “I think this is a great opportunity to enjoy community with us and just have a good time. It’s a great experience.
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“In the past, we haven’t celebrated the Hmong New Year like this here. It’s always been in-house and open to mainly students and staff and friends and families,” Xiong says. “This is actually the first institutionalized celebration. Madison College has really invested in this event and in the Hmong community. Not only are we putting the celebration out there, but we’re thinking about ways in which we can engage and partner and build relationships within communities.
“This event also opens up the Hmong community to Madison College and lets them learn more about us and have access to this institution,” Xiong adds. “So the Hmong New Year is not only about celebrating but making connections.”
The event is free and open to the public, but folks are asked to
reserve their tickets as soon as possible, by registering here.
“We are really excited about this event. It’s definitely new to us; it’s new to me. We are looking forward to putting on a great event for our students and our community,” Xiong says.
Madison College is hosting a celebration of the Hmong New Year
on Saturday, Dec. 3, 1-5 p.m. in room D1630 at the Truax Campus.
