NEWS RELEASE

News Bureau . Schofield Hall 201 . Eau Claire, WI 54702
phone: (715) 836-4741
fax: (715) 836-2900

EAU CLAIRE - The 13th annual Hmong Cultural Festival, "Generation Xer's: Keeping the Traditions, Looking Toward the Future," will be held Saturday, March 8, at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

The event, which is free and open to the public, will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Council Fire Room of Davies Center.

The festival is intended to promote and increase Hmong cultural awareness to a non-Hmong audience, said Charles Vue, UW-Eau Claire Hmong and Southeast Asian program coordinator, although he noted that typically more Hmong than non-Hmong attend the festival.

Dr. Thao Yang, associate professor of chemistry, will be the first keynote speaker at 11 a.m. and will speak about education. The second keynote speaker, Capt. Fong Lor, will discuss child/parent relationships beginning at 2:15 p.m.

Other events throughout the day include native dances, skits, a fashion show and samples of Hmong food.

The band Huabtais will perform during the evening portion of the festival from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. in the Council Fire Room of Davies Center. Tickets for the event are $8.

For additional information, call Chu Porn Lee, president of the Hmong Student Association, at the student organization complex, (715) 836-4020, or contact the American Ethnic Coordinating Office, (715) 836-3367, in Schofield 225.

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CR/NW

Judy Berthiaume, Director
UW-Eau Claire News Bureau
Schofield 201
(715) 836-4741
newsbur@uwec.edu

Updated: March 13, 2003