Community members, UMD students and staff, veterans and the Hmong community came together to bring in the 2024 year.

The annual event is free to the public thanks to the generous donations of those in our community along with grants from various organizations.

Community members had the opportunity to watch traditional performances and embrace the Hmong with food afterwards.

Sawm Vang says it’s a tradition of passing things on from the elders to the youth. “That’s why we have so many youth performers today.” UMD student Alivia Lor was one of the performers.

Lor performed what’s called a dragon dance. “It’s not traditional to Hmong people but I wanted a way to make it modern and my own.” She says she used elements from many cultures to create the dance, which she now has performed for two years in a row.

After the Vietnam war there were only certain areas Hmong people could live and Minnesota was one of them. Service members also attended the event to stand with the Hmong in consolidation for those who lived through the Vietnam war.

Vang mentioned that they want people to know that there is a Hmong population in Duluth though it may not be as robust of a population that the Twin Cities has.