Del Norte's Hmong community in the 2021 Fourth of July parade. | File photo: Jessica C. Andrews

Del Norte’s Hmong families plan to make some 3,000 egg rolls Friday evening for their annual New Year celebration on Saturday.

They'll will don traditional costumes, dance and sing and feed anyone who visits Crescent Elk Middle School.

Both a family reunion and a way to share their culture with a broader audience, everyone is welcome to participate in the entertainment as well as the volleyball and ball tossing tournaments, said Khou Vue, a teacher and founder of the Hmong Cultural Center of Del Norte County.

It’ll be the first Hmong New Year celebration held in Del Norte County since 2019, Vue told the Wild Rivers Outpost.

The egg rolls will be part of a lunch Del Norters are also invited to. The spread will include beef laab, beef curry, boiled pork and veggies, salad and sticky or non-sticky rice, Vue said.

“We have the New Year coordinator prep it at his house and then we’ll take it to Crescent Elk,” he said. “Some of it will be cooked there and some will be cooked at home.”

Lunch will be held from 12-1:30 p.m.; a ribbon cutting, speeches, singing and dancing will start at 9 a.m.

Hmong communities throughout the state and country holding New Year celebrations this month. Traditionally, the holiday coincides with the end of the Lunar calendar, but Vue said Hmong communities try to space out their celebrations to enable family members from out of the area to join us.

The Hmong community in Sacramento already held their celebration, and the Fresno community will hold their celebration at the end of December, Vue said. Del Norte’s Hmong community hopes that others from nearby cities will be able to attend its celebration, he said.

About 90 Hmong families call Del Norte County home, Vue said. They’re relatives of veterans who aided the United States during the secret war in Laos between 1961 and 1975.

However, those families are not the large families Del Norte County saw about 10 to 15 years ago, Vue said. Local Hmong families consisted of six or more family members. Currently, there are about three to five family members.

“This year, we feel like it’s more special, but we have fewer young people who are actively participating in community events,” Vue said of the celebration. “So we may not have the number of performers that we usually do. And, of course with the COVID situation, people don’t really gather and practice dances, for example, or singing or chanting.”

COVID precautions will be in place at the Hmong New Year celebration on Saturday with mask-wearing recommended. The fashion shows and entertainment will take place in the auditorium, volleyball and ball tossing will be held in the big gym, and everyone is welcome, Vue reiterated.

“It’s not just limited to the Hmong folks or the community,” he said. “I would encourage anyone who wants to share their talent or perform anything — we would love to have them.”

To participate in the performances, call Lou Vang at (559) 691-8093 or Annisa Vang at (707) 951-1276.

To play Volleyball, call Steven Vang at (707) 218-0037. For the Fashion Show, call Pahoua Xiong at (707) 954-6293 or Stacey Xiong at (559) 906-9920.

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