Hmong New Year Festival

Organized with a large police presence. Lots of culturally oriented foid and music. Good 4 day event

food review.
a place had watered down tamarind and anchovie sauce (lessened the flavor of the papaya salad)
asian meatballs at another place (gray looking meat?) totally bland! 1 bite and tossed the rest of the food
went to have some decent grilled chicken. rice was a little on the dry side. pepper was good.
the company i was with was fun!
enjoyed the small group reunions & took pictures

The event is held every year at Cal Expo for 4 days. It is founded by the 18 Hmong clans as a way to serve the Hmong community in Sacramento. Hmong New Year is meant to celebrate the end of harvesting. Thus, it doesn’t fall on a particular date.
I was a bit hesitant in the beginning to wear Hmong clothes, but I’m glad I did. I was able to get the full experience. Clothing usually represents the clan you come from. Traditionally, clothes are handmade by grandmothers and mothers, but they can now be bought. Certain Hmong clothes are decorated with silver coins. The elaborate embroidery and flashy coins show how wealthy a girl is. Women also wear heavy pure silver necklaces.
The food was an important part of the event for me. I had an order of Hmong sausage with sticky rice ($ 10). The sausage was really flavorful and I liked dipping it in the hot pepper sauce. My mouth was burning. I also ordered nab vam– Hmong three colored drink that consisted of yellow/​red/​green jelly, syrup, coconut milk, and ice. I wished there was more coconut milk in it.
There were a lot of vendors selling stuff, such as traditional clothes, jewelry, DVDs, herbs, etc. There was also a pageant, sports tournaments, dance competitions, and Hmong Idol competitions. I didn’t get a chance to see any of it though. I did catch the small parade that consisted of musical instruments being played and pageant girls riding in cars.
I learned about a traditional courting game they play– pov pob. Single boys and girls line up across from one another and toss a tennis ball back and forth until someone drops the ball. The one who drops it is supposed to give the other person a piece of their clothing or jewelry.
I had a pretty good time. If I didn’t come here with my Hmong friend, I would probably give the event 3 stars instead of 4 stars. She helped me learn more about her culture.
* $ 4 entrance fee
* Children under 5 and senior who are 65 and older are FREE
* $ 10 parking fee for those that are parking in the Cal-​Expo lot.

Soo many Hmong Hotties

When I used to live in Long Beach, Hmong New Year was the only time I would be able to eat HMONG SAUSAGE with sticky rice. Now that I live here in Sac, you can buy HMONG SAUSAGE at the store!
I come here to celebrate my heritage and eat good Hmong food. It’s a good idea to sit down and eat family style. Usually we’ll order one dish HMONG SAUSAGE, BBQ PORK AND BBQ CHICKEN and share with everyone. Don’t forget the papaya salad. You want to find a vendor that makes it really dark and juicy. I order one pepper only. This dish can get REALLY HOT. They make it to order so you can tell them how mild or how hot you want it. $ 3.00 minimum for a papaya order.
The food is usually $ 8.00 per plate but WAIT, you get a whole BBQ chicken or a huge slab of pork including the fat and skin or large portions of sausage. The best thing is that everything is BBQ’d and comes with home made hot sauce.
Note: Watch out for fights and ghetto gangsters. Other than that, if you look normal, you’ll be fine. You’ll always leave the food court smelling like BBQ so no need to wear anything special.

Food’s good. Expensive. $ 9 for some rice and usually your choice of chicken, fish, sausage, or pork.
Parkings crazy.
What else can I say? Need I say more?
Unfortunately, that is all the good points in my book. It’s unfortunate that I’ve conclude into what I just did. The Hmong Festival is suppose to be of celebration and what not, but sadly, times have change and I can say that probably 50% of the people that attend will most likely say that they attend just for the food.
It’s an exciting event to experience, but not something to be bummed about if you haven’t.

First, I understand that an event of this caliber takes time and devotion.
Ok… just saw the Web site. I actually feel kind of angry about the board of directors and the elected officers because they’re ALL MEN.
I mean, yes it’s true that the organization is ran by the 18 or semi-​19 clans. And at the head of those clans are all men. And yes, only men have voting rights within those clans, therefore within the event organization.
It’s 2009. Today, I find myself asking: Is the Hmong community progressing? Or is it regressing?
Other than that, the event is the usual. The old folks go to mingle with their long lost friends. The kids tag along with their grandparents or their parents. The young teens go to eat papaya salad. And the single 20 to 30 year olds… Not sure where they fit. I think that’s where the board of directors and officers haven’t quite figured out yet.

Hey, I’m Hmong! I didn’t know we can Unilocal the Hmong New Year, so here I go…
I’m now in my 20’s and the experience has changed a lot for me. Back in the day it used to be held at Gibson Ranch… which I think they still do…2 events in one city. I like this location much better though; it’s closer and I’d prefer not stepping into mud puddles everywhere I go. The main reason why I still go is because of the food. I love me some b.b.q. porkchop, Hmong sausage, purple sticky rice, nava (sp?), tam som (papaya salad) and so many other goodies. The outfits have also changed throughout the years as well. They have become more flashy… which I totally dig. I’m not into wearing them, but it’s still nice to view. There are also stages set up for entertainment (singing, traditional Hmong dancing, & other performances). There’s also soccer and I believe volleyball tournements going on. Those are always fun to watch too. Oh yeah, I forgot about all the booths with Hmong videos, music, clothing, etc. It’s pretty neat if we’re foreign to you, do enjoy! Go with an open mind, the old school «gangbangers» are now married with kids and as for the younger ones, they’re just trying to be cool. No worries!

Hmm, what can i say about Hmong new year?
The fights were bad, so really not every Hmong person was at the event even it lasted 3 days. Kinda sad, gang banging is #1 in the Hmong community. I wish all the Hmong people just get along!
Besides the bullshit, the event is nice. I like how they have so many food stands and each one sells the same kinda foods. Its like a competition, whoever made the best tasting or who ‘s cheaper. stuff like that. Im not Hmong, but i grew up with them so i know quite well how their culture is.
I only came for the food, and to check out the handy craft work on peoples Hmong clothes. Everywhere u go, u hear bells! And loud Hmong music playing, reminds me of the flea market at Galt.

«Sacramento Hmong new year celebrations is all about delicious food, live music and various sports activities. It’s just the perfect time to have fun, meet new people and time to wear traditional black dress with fluorescent pink, green and yellow beading adorned by dozens of dangling aluminum coins producing a steady jingling sound throughout the fairgrounds. The new year’s celebration provides ground for Hmong’s to meet their friends, family and celebrate the new year with a lavish spread of dinner. The main highlight of the Sacramento Hmong new year Festival is the convention of playing traditional „toss-​ball“ game which aims at throwing a ball back and forth to know people. The festival is usually pre dominated by live dance performances, talent contests and music with more than thousand visitors enjoying the lively event every year. It is perpetually a time for celebration and joy. Traditional Sacramento Hmong new year is celebrated with the beginning of the lunar-​based Hmong calendar which marks the completion of their harvest season. It’s also the time to ponder on mouth watering delicious food prepared extensively by the women folk of the house. Sacramento Hmong new year carnival highlights particularly on the rich inherent traditions and cultures, rebirth and rejuvenation.»
I like learning about different cultures AND appreciating new foods. This event fulfilled both of those things. It was interesting to learn about the Hmong people and their customs, but more importantly– being able to try their delicious food! The food has heavy influences from Southeast Asia (Laos, Thailand, China, and Vietnam).
There were over 30 vendors selling mostly the same items. Warning: it is very smoky from all the barbeque pits.
I tried papaya salad (Lao style), grilled chicken, grilled pork (really really cripsy skin) with sticky rice (the more purple– the better), kapoon/​khao poon (rice noodle soup with chicken in a coconut –based broth), and fried bananas. They were ALL extremely tasty.
I also saw that other popular dishes were fish steamed in leaves, fried fish, and grilled sausages (either American or Hmong style) with sticky rice, phở, and larb.

Wow, what a huge event. Stands upon stands of food, it’s hard to know which stall to order from. Luckily we went with a Hmong friend, who knew her way around the festival.
Many of the attendees were in traditional bright custom with coins dangling so you could hear them coming from afar. We watched them participate in a courting ritual which involved throwing tennis balls back and forth!
The food was heavily southeast Asian, predominantly Lao influenced. The BBQ pork with a nice layer of crispy fat was delicious. Lao style papaya salad was well balanced and made to your liking. We got 2 orders of this tart and spicy goodness. The Khao Poon broth I had was on the light side, but the noodles were a nice texture and spicing condiments were plenty.
Obviously, I can’t tell you which booth I went to, so I suggest going with a Hmong friend and letting them lead the way.