3rd Annual International Lao New Year Festival April 30, 2011

Saturday, April 30th 10am-5pm, 6pm-12am

As a result of the Indochina Conflict (Vietnam War), refugees from Laos have called the United States home for the last three decades. The first wave of refugees came to the U.S. in late 1970s. Close to one million people of ancestry from Laos now live in the US, and about 35,000 of them reside in the San Francisco Bay Area. After 30 years in the U.S., still little is known of our experiences, cultures, and way of life by other Americans.

The International Lao New Year Festival (ILNYF) is one of the largest Southeast Asian American cultural festivals in the country. Totaling almost two million, Southeast Asian Americans are the largest groups of refugees to be resettled in the United States thus far, and includes the Lao, Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Burmese communities. We are expecting over 15,000 people to attend our outdoor day festival at the UN Plaza in San Francisco.

Day Event includes:

*Tak Baht Ceremony (alms offerings to over 20 Buddhist monks), and Baci Ceremony (10am - 12pm on Fulton Street)
*Buddha Statues Washing
*Tam Maak Huung/Green Papaya Salad Contest
*New Year Water Splashing Activities
*Muay Lao/Muay Thai (Lao and Thai Boxing) by World Team USA
*Khene Music & Lam Folk Songs
*Traditional Music and Dance Performances
*Multi-Cultural Performances by: Bay Area Lao Dance Troupes, Hmong International New Year Dance Troupe, Burmese Traditional Dance Troupe, Cambodian Traditional Dances, Thai Traditional Dances
*Live Concert by National Lao American Artists
*Film Screening, sponsored by San Francisco Main Public Library, Koret Auditorium
*Unity Parade
*Children and Youth Activities
*Free Hepatitis B testing
*Lao Food Vendors
*And much more!

In the evening we will feature Outstanding Achievement Awards, Miss Lao International Pageant, and the fashion of Andy South from Project Runway. Authentic Lao food, Lamvong Lao dancing, concert, live band, cash bar at St. Mary's Cathedral (7pm-12am).

Official Website: http://www.laonewyear.com