WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAW) -- On Sunday, dance competitions, food and craft vendors galore, and community connections are the biggest highlights at the Wausau area Hmong New Year celebration. People from all over the Midwest come to join in on the fun, especially the dancers and vendors.
"It's a big attraction for a lot of vendors as well, because we're a number of attendees, and we're a great place, close to Minnesota, close to Milwaukee, we're Central, so everyone just wants to come and attend our event here," said Long Lor, the Vice President of the Wausau Area Hmong New Year.
The dance competition is the biggest attraction of the celebration and where many of the attendees come for. They're friends, family, and fans cheering teams on.
"Our competition is we have over 30 teams coming from Minnesota all over Wisconsin, and that's where all of all the audience is looking to see which team is the best at the traditional Hmong dance," said Lor.
One dance crew called Ambient Lights traveled here from Minnesota. While their goal was to win, they also had their hearts set on something else.
"Mostly we're here to cheer out our dance sisters and to see mostly the Hmong community and cheer everybody on," Nikita Her, a dancer of Ambient Lights, said.
Lor says the celebration takes a lot of planning. That's why they're already working on next year's celebration.