Celebrate Southeast Asian cultures at summer events!

We can’t take you to Southeast Asia, but we’re excited to help three Asian-American communities share their cultural traditions at Lake Sammamish and Saltwater state parks in the next few weeks!  

Co-hosted by Parks’ Folk and Traditional Arts Program (FTAP), the United Communities of Laos, Cambodian, and Iu Mien Cultural Festivals have become a mainstay of the two parks in these past couple years. This July and August, they return!

Sat., July 27 - United Communities of Laos Festival, Lake Sammamish 

In 2022, the United Communities of Laos started a festival at Lake Sammamish State Park. It is now an annual event in partnership with FTAP and Northwest Folklife.

The communities of Laos include Khmu, Lao, Hmong and many other ethnic groups that originated in Laos and now live in the Pacific Northwest. After their homeland was ravaged during the Vietnam War, power struggles erupted, and years of persecution ensued. Refugees fled to Thailand and later to the U.S. Today, Washington is home to around 13,000 Lao, Hmong, Khmer and Khmu immigrants and their descendants.

The festival includes 10 performances, featuring musical artists, a DJ, dance troupes, fashion shows and more. Community organizations will have booths showcasing textiles – including ornate traditional costumes that feature Hmong embroidery and beadwork. Other groups will be selling food, demonstrating martial arts and more.

Come to Lake Sammamish for this fun, fascinating day of community Sat., July 27, between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m.

Celebrating Cambodian Culture – Aug. 10, Saltwater State Park

Did you know more than half a million Cambodians live in the U.S.?

In the early to mid-1970s, a civil war led to a reign of terror by the infamous Khmer Rouge, which killed up to one-third of the country’s population. Of those who escaped, many made a new life here.

Now, Washington is home to a thriving community of refugees, survivors and their descendants.

Parks staffer and Khmer Rouge survivor Srey Ryser describes her community as “resilient, genuinely easy-going and kind.”

She says, “We like to share culture, food, traditional and classical music, dances and chit-chat.”

Cambodian- Americans tend to hold big gatherings for New Years, weddings and funerals, but a summer shindig gives them a chance to see each other off-season and teach their neighbors and non-Cambodian friends about their traditions.

“We’re a great group that has lived through a hard life,” said Srey. “Older Cambodian generations are rebuilding and introducing our culture to younger children who were born here.”

Srey helped organize the first Cambodian festivals in Washington and said the organizers hope more non-Cambodian visitors will attend this day of dance, music, food, vendor booths and more.

The Cambodian Cultural Celebration marks its 15^th year working with FTAP to host their event in a state park.

Join in the celebration Sat., Aug. 10, between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., at Saltwater.

Iu Mien Festival – Aug. 24, Lake Sammamish State Park

The Mien hill tribes originated in China and gradually migrated to small mountain villages in Laos. U.S. troops and intelligence agencies recruited them as allies during the Vietnam War, but the Iu Mien were persecuted when American troops left Southeast Asia. Many reached the U.S. in the early 1980s via refugee camps in Thailand.

Nearly 50,000 Iu Mien have settled in the western United States. Between 5,000 and 10,000 live in King County.

The Iu Mien had a low profile in Washington for almost 40 years.

According to festival organizer Som Lee, the event at Lake Sammamish continues to raise awareness and strengthen connections between Iu Mien elders who came to the U.S. as adults and their descendants, many of them born in America. Last year, at the first Iu Mien Festival, with as many as 2,000 visitors joined the celebration, with Iu Mien community members traveling from Washington, Oregon and California for the event.

The day will be part picnic, part family reunion and part cultural celebration with more than 50 vendors and traditional arts groups.

Som Lee stresses that non-Mien park-goers are welcome to come learn about this unique and beautiful community, Sat., Aug. 24, between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. at Lake Sammamish.

(Top header image: 12 Clans Iu Mien Surnames Parade. Participants wear traditional garments, including M’nqorgv Beu (head turban), Lui Guaan (red puffy yarn on collar), and Mienh Lui (long black shirt), Washington Iu Mien Festival, 2023. Photo by: TJ Chao.)

Get to know your neighbors

Som Lee once remarked that, “many folks go their whole lives without knowing their neighbors, even when those neighbors live two blocks away.”

But occasions like the upcoming festivals and their park settings can help lower barriers. When we share the benefits of nature on a warm summer day, we tend to open up to new friends, their cultures and their life stories.

So, please come out, join us and maybe make some new friends at one, two or all of these events!