Photos: 44th annual Hmong New Year festival in St. Paul draws thousands
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Minnesota’s Hmong community is coming together this weekend for the annual Hmong New Year celebration in St. Paul.
It’s the 44th anniversary of the New Year festivities, which are expected to draw 25,000 to 30,000 people over two days.
Minnesota is home to one of the largest communities of Hmong people in the country, at more than 94,000, and St. Paul’s Hmong New Year celebration is one of the biggest Hmong events in the U.S.
Attendees often take the festival as a chance to wear their best traditional clothing, eat Hmong food and play ball-toss, a courtship game.
The festival includes the Miss Hmong Minnesota Pageant, which offers performances throughout both days. The court is set to be crowned around 6 or 7 p.m. Sunday.
The Minnesota Hmong New Year runs 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the St. Paul RiverCentre. Tickets are available at the door for $12 cash or $12.45 on card; kids under 42” tall and people 65 and older can get in for free.
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