The Hmong are a fascinating people. They have such a complex and varied history that I am not even going to attempt to define it here. We have a very large Hmong community all throughout the central valley and over this weekend there is a huge Hmong New Year celebration at Cal Expo. It is only $4 to get in, but $10 to park, so I would recommend parking down the way and hoofing it in, just like we don for The State Fair. Rad food, music, beauty pageants, boba tea, and flea market style booths selling all manner of things Hmong.
This is a really great chubby horsie balloon in the foreground, and a beauty pageant in the background.
There were a ton of people in traditional dress. It is all tinkling silver, Neon colors, and intricate embroidery.
I went with Becki and she reminded me that part of why people are unfamiliar with the Hmong community is because they don't open restaurants like their other Asian cousins. I wish they would. We ate whole chickens, amazing sausage with chunks of ginger and herbs, purple sticky rice and fried plantains.
These girls are involved in a ball tossing/courting situation. The footwear was kind of funny. There were a lot of traditional garb with stripper platforms.
Lots of cool jewels.
Virginity soap?
There were lots of pills for sale. In unmarked bags. Weird.
Also lots of bundles of sticks. I've got some research to do.
This is an It's-It cooler filled with sausage.
The movies and music for sale were pretty intense. There was a pathway through the booths that was seriously psychedelic. Each booth was BLASTING music. It was so deafening and the noises were so complicated that I stopped walking and closed my eyes. It was transportive. Becki said she screamed and no one could hear her. So loud.
Some pretty incredible movies.
I picked up these jems for myself. A hot chick getting eaten by a snake for Rafter, and hopefully some incredible music.
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