WAUSAU, WI (WSAU-WAOW) — After a year off due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Hmong Wausau Festival returned to the Peoples Sports Complex this weekend with record crowds.
“It’s a special day for us, really. Because we are celebrating history. I mean, it’s the first event since COVID so this is a big day for us here,” Hmong American Center president Long Lor said.
Alongside the pageantry comes the actual festival, complete with food stands, boutiques, and athletic competitions.
One person traveling in for the festival is from Minnesota, another state with a large Hmong population. She said seeing members of the community all gathering in one place again is uplifting.
“Just being able to come to Wausau here and celebrate and actually get to see everyone here–it’s really important just to be able to enjoy everyone’s companies again,” Naly Yang of St. Paul said.
But underneath all the fun to be had lies a single community that Governor Tony Evers’says should be celebrated.
“It’s really important that we celebrate the rich cultures and traditions of the Hmong community. What a great story they have to tell and what great people they are to be part of us here in Wisconsin,” he said.
Evers visited the festival Saturday morning alongside his Lieutenant Governor and US Senate Candidate Mandela Barnes.
The festival continues today. Limited parking is available at the sports complex and Wausau’s MetroRide transit system is running shuttles from two other locations- the downtown airport and John Marshall Elementary School.
