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The 50th anniversary of the largest Hmong New Year celebration in the U.S. will be held at the Fresno Fairgrounds from Dec. 26 - 29, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
This winter, Fresno’s Hmong New Year celebrations will mark 50 years since many Hmong families arrived in the United States as refugees following the Vietnam War.
Many remember the lives lost as Hmong refugees fled Laos in 1975, endured dangerous months in Thai camps, faced the challenges of resettling in the U.S., arriving as strangers in a country they helped during the American Secret War.
In the U.S., Hmong communities have reimagined the New Year celebration, blending traditional dances in hand-embroidered attire with authentic Hmong cuisine and cultural ceremonies.
This centuries-old tradition, rooted in Southeast Asia, originally marked the harvest season and a time of gratitude, renewal, and family unity, and today it continues as a vibrant expression of Hmong culture and community. Today, it continues as a vibrant expression of Hmong culture and community.
“It takes your memory back,” Toulu Thao, CEO and president of The Hmong, Inc. said. “Sadness because of what you went through, but also happiness, saying, ‘Wow, gosh, we made it here.’”
The largest Hmong New Year celebration in the U.S. happens every year at the Fresno County Fairgrounds. The event has previously attracted over 100,000 attendees from Minnesota, Utah, and across California in a single year. Organized by Hmong Inc., this year’s celebration will take place daily Dec. 26 to 29.
While tens of thousands of people will flock to the region’s largest Hmong New Year celebration, smaller, community-based events throughout the season play an equally important role in sustaining cultural traditions.
Large and small celebrations help Hmong communities honor their heritage while passing it on to younger generations in Fresno and beyond.
A celebration of survival
For Thao, the milestone carries a swirl of emotion. It is “a sensational moment,” he said, “that brings happiness and tears at the same time.”
Thao remembers the hardships of Hmong people’s resettlement during the first years: unexplained deaths among new arrivals, youth insecurity, and a rise in suicides. He recalls gang violence among young people searching for a place to belong — “not by choice,” he said, but a reaction to a community that wasn’t yet understood or embraced.
While those memories still weigh heavily for many Hmong people, Thao says celebrations in Fresno today reflect a stronger sense of collaboration and demonstrate the Hmong community’s essential place in the city’s identity.
This year’s New Year celebration honors both the hardships and the achievements of the community. Inside the Fresno Fairground’s Commerce Building, a multimedia exhibition curated by artist Lar Yang called Hmongstory Legacy Project walks visitors through stages of Hmong history — from war, to resettlement, to present-day America.
Elsewhere, DJs will mix Hmong, Lao, and English music daily. Organizers are also debuting a new Mrs. Hmong USA pageant to celebrate contributions of older Hmong women. Nighttime events will feature bands flown in from Minnesota and Colorado, continuing the festivities after the fairgrounds close each day.
More than anything, Thao hopes attendees, Hmong and non-Hmong alike, will walk away seeing this not just as a cultural festival, but as a shared American story.
“This celebration may have originated by Hmong people,” Thao said. “But we are American.”
The rise of Hmong dance competitions in Fresno
For the first time, the Hmong New Year dance competition at the Fresno Fairgrounds’ celebration is expanding to include three divisions: mini, junior and senior. By introducing a mini category for dancers as young as 5, organizers hope to spark interest early and help children feel that they belong in the heart of the celebration.
“These kids nowadays are extremely talented,” said Rocky Vang, a dance studio director and the competition’s dance coordinator with The Hmong, Inc. “They pick things very quick, and they’re so passionate about dance. They deserve a fair chance to compete too.”
As a longtime coach, Vang noticed that younger dancers were often grouped with teens several years older. Creating a separate division, he added, allows the youngest performers “to come out, experience competition, and showcase what they’ve worked on all year long.”
“Being someone who teaches the culture, to preserve it, it definitely means so much to me,” Vang said. “I’m teaching my kids, not only dance, but I’m teaching them the culture as well.”
That yearlong effort is no exaggeration. Many studios begin enrollment in late winter and start preparing competition routines in March. Dancers learn techniques, formations, stamina and multiple sets of choreography while also performing at community events.
By fall, Vang said, “everything gets serious,” with teams finalizing costumes and polishing their routines for a packed competition season. Fresno, as the final New Year celebration of the year, is the highlight.
The surge in dance participation over the past three years has pushed organizers to expand.
“Hmong dance kind of died down for a little bit,” Vang said, noting that it lacked parental support and was seen as just a hobby. After the pandemic, everything shifted. “Everyone wanted to do something again,” he said.
TikTok helped fuel interest as dancers recorded performances and connected with other teams online. Meanwhile, former dancers became coaches and parents embraced dance as a real sport.
This year’s competition features 50 teams — 12 mini, 23 junior and 15 senior — many traveling from major Hmong communities in Wisconsin and Minnesota.
“Our Hmong dance community, we definitely bring the crowd,” Vang said. “When one dance group shows up, everybody shows up.”
The competition, he added, brings some of the loudest and most excited audiences of the entire New Year celebration.
For Vang, the significance of the moment is deeply personal as his grandparents and parents lived through refugee camps in Thailand before resettling.
“Our people have come such a long way,” Vang said. “Not a lot of people know who the Hmong are or what we went through. But this year, we’re celebrating 50 years and 50 dance teams are taking the stage.”
Smaller gatherings help pass on traditions
At Yosemite Middle School in southeast Fresno, students and families gathered for the school’s third annual Hmong New Year celebration on Dec. 6, a day featuring dance groups, singing, loso line dancing, a fashion show, musical chairs, and more than 20 local vendors.
The event was primarily organized by arts media teacher Ger Thor, who sees it as a “community project” that encourages diversity on campus and gives students a chance to share and learn about culture in their own neighborhood. This year, he said, they expanded with more performances and vendors to help “strengthen social bonds among families.”
“It’s really about uniting with each other,” Thor said. “Students see their culture celebrated at school, it builds socialism, and everyone is welcome to learn alongside them.”
School counselor Steven Lee helps support the event and has heard from parents who appreciate having a space that feels more intimate and accessible. Some families, Lee said, choose not to attend the large fairgrounds celebration because they find the crowds overwhelming and worry about bringing younger children.
Lee said these smaller celebrations help build community at a scale that feels comfortable, allowing families to show up, connect with others they recognize from the neighborhood, and still celebrate Hmong culture.
Among the vendors was Vam Moua, owner of his Muaj Tiag collection, returning for his second year. Moua, who is based in Los Angeles, makes the drive north because Thor, a friend he met years ago in Long Beach, invites him to participate.
Moua sells modern-style Hmong art prints, clothing, books, buttons, and other merchandise. He sees his art as a way to bridge generations, blending contemporary styles with cultural identity to reach Hmong youth.
Growing up, Moua dreamed of becoming an animator but didn’t see many Hmong artists to look up to. A family friend inspired him to pursue an art career, and now he hopes to be that inspiration for others.
“You want to be that bridge,” Moua said, “to give them a chance to see themselves.”
Know before you go
The Hmong New Year celebration at the Fresno Fairgrounds will be from Dec. 26 to 29., running daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- The address is: 1121 S Chance Ave, Fresno, CA 93702
- Tickets can be purchased here.
