Oroville's Nelson Sports Complex fills with music, dance competitions and the smell of Hmong barbecue this weekend as the city's annual Hmong New Year Festival returns for two full days of cultural celebration. The event runs Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with general admission set at $5 per person.
According to butte365.com, the festival is being hosted at the Nelson Sports Complex in Oroville, with children age 5 and under and seniors 65 and older admitted free. Organizers describe the gathering as the official kickoff event for the Northern California Hmong New Year festival season, according to the same listing. As reported by Action News Now, the two-day celebration will spotlight traditional Hmong music, dancing, cultural performances and authentic food meant to bring communities together.
A Tradition Dating Back to 1985
The Oroville festival has been held annually since 1985, per chicoer.com. The two-day event traditionally marks the end of the harvest season and supports the local Hmong community's cultural traditions, the outlet reported. Over the decades, the celebration has grown from a smaller community gathering into one of the region's most anticipated fall events.
That growth hasn't been without change. Historical coverage from the same outlet noted the festival has increasingly focused on food, entertainment and shopping rather than the traditional clothing and singing that once defined it. Still, this year's lineup brings back some of those older customs, including the Pov Pob ball-tossing courtship game and Kwv Txhiaj folk singing, according to the butte365.com listing.
Competitions, Prizes and a Full Food Lineup
Visitors this weekend can expect dance and singing competitions with tournament registration and cash prizes, the butte365.com listing states. Food vendors will serve traditional Hmong and Southeast Asian dishes including Hmong barbecue, pork sausage, steamed fish, pho and khaub poob. The combination of contests, food and performances has long been central to the festival's draw.
Attendance has fluctuated significantly over the years. More than 6,000 people turned out for Oroville's 26th annual festival in 2016, the station's earlier report found, while organizers expected 5,000 to 7,000 attendees the following year. By 2019, roughly 5,000 people visited the Nelson Sports Complex over the weekend, and that year's 29th annual event ran Oct. 12-13 with shows, cultural activities, sports tournaments and food for sale, according to orovillemr.com. A separate account of a 2023 celebration described a much smaller crowd of about 200 eventgoers, per hmongdailynews.com.
Kicking Off a Regional Season
Oroville's celebration has historically opened the broader season of Hmong New Year events across California, with the 2016 festival described as kicking off statewide celebrations that year, per the earlier chicoer.com coverage. This weekend's event continues that role, serving as the season's official start for Northern California, according to the butte365.com listing. For many families, the festival remains a chance to celebrate Hmong heritage while welcoming the wider community into two days of music, competition and shared food.
