Thread by @benwikler

On the road to Wausau for the Hmong Wausau Festival

Huge line for the Hmong Wausau Festival!

Yee Leng Xiong runs the Hmong Wausau Festival, the Hmong American Center, and serves in multiple elected offices—as well as on the administrative committee of the @WisDems. An extraordinary leader in our state!

Our great @GovEvers greeting Marathon County Board member William Harris at the Hmong Wausau Festival

Mine-za Thao and Mary Thao are tremendous leaders in Wisconsin politics—so great to meet in person and not just on Zoom! And great to meet Corrie Norrbom

The speaking program of the opening ceremony of the Hmong Wausau Festival is live-streamed by 3 Hmong TV News here:

youtube.com/hbctelevision
Facebook.com/3hmongtvnews

The parade kicks off with a welcome from @GovEvers, who then lights the torch to mark the start of the games. Tons of athletic competitions will run all weekend!

After the national anthem, elected officials and other leaders file past Hmong Lao veterans standing at attention.

Lit torch, waving flag

Lt. Nao Shoua Xiong, president of the Wisconsin Lao Veterans of America, addresses the opening ceremony, flanked by his fellow veterans, thanks @GovEvers at the opening ceremony, as @GovEvers, Mine-za Thao, and Yee Leng Xiong watch from the seats of honor.

Read more about Lt. Nao Shoua Xiong, the Hmong Lao veterans who fought for America, and their work for recognition in Wisconsin in this great story: wausaudailyherald.com/story/news/201…

This spring, @GovEvers signed A.B. 154 into law designating May 14 as Hmong-Lao Veterans Day, commemorating the final day of the 1975 airlift evacuation of Hmong-Lao soldiers and their families from Long Tieng, Laos—with Lt. Nao Shoua Xiong by his side.

wsaw.com/2021/05/14/gov…

Mayor @katierosenberg is introduced with an enthusiastic “holy balls!” (Google it) and delivers a warm and bold speech celebrating the festival and the Hmong community—and calling on the city and county to be a community for all, despite political differences.

Katie’s speech touched on a controversy that roiled the county board this spring. Read about that here: nytimes.com/2021/05/18/us/…

After the board of Marathon County fell short of declaring the county a Community for All, Mayor @katierosenberg made the declaration on behalf of the city of Wausau. Today’s event reflects that spirit. wpr.org/after-county-v…

Our great @GovEvers takes the stage! Much to celebrate—AB154, Suni Lee’s gold medal, and the effectiveness of vaccines. Also condemns racist attacks against Asian-Americans. Expresses his gratitude to the Hmong leaders here and to the whole community.

May yer (“mine-za”) Thao is the Assistant Deputy Director of Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority—the first Asian-American woman appointed to executive office in Wisconsin, and a key partner for @GovEvers in ensuring that Wisconsin’s economy lifts up everyone.

May yer notes that when Suni Lee won her gold medal, people started searching for info about the Hmong—and CBS posted an article drawing on info from Wausau’s own Hmong American Center. The Olympic gold has lifted up the whole community!

Our Lt Gov @LGMandelaBarnes is here too! It’s the first Hmong Wausau Festival to welcome both the Gov and Lt Gov.

Festival Executive Director Yee Leng Xiong closes out the morning with a hearty round of thanks for the many, many people who made today possible.

A beautiful day for a visit to a wonderful festival by @GovEvers

A delight to see renowned @WisDems leader and Marathon County Board Supervisor Ka Lo!

There are more than 50,000 Hmong Wisconsinites—the third largest population of any US state. After English and Spanish, Hmong is the third most common language spoken at home in Wisconsin. This community is an essential part of what Wisconsin is all about.

There’s a Hmong tradition of hand embroidery showing stories of village live in Laos. Kaoly Lo used to make them—and now designs them on computers and prints them on umbrellas and other objects. My mom, here with me, bought a bunch; you can buy one at Moonlighthmongdesigns.com!

The @WisDems booth here at the Hmong Wausau Festival has our Hmong language literature! Thanks to Tou Chue and team for staffing the booth!