parade didn’t start until 6:30 pm, dancers began arriving at the Lao Cultural Center at 9:00 am to begin getting ready. Hair had to be arranged “just so” with gold beads, make-up and to be put on “just so” – not too much and not too little, and traditional clothing had to be fitted.

Finally, the big moment arrived; marching bands, floats and Lao dancers from six to sixteen lined up and began the fourteen block walk down Central Avenue. With drums banging and a buffalo horn blowing the kids went through their well-rehearsed moves of the Kong-Ee-Toom dance.

People cheered, people clapped, TV cameras recorded their every move and parade judges cast their vote for the best entries. After nine more blocks exhausted drummers and worn out kids reached the end at Central and Fourteenth.

The story did not end at that intersection in Northeast Minneapolis. The next day LAO America received the news that they had won the “Best Of Parade” Grand Champion Award.

 

Although nobody knew it, preparation for the Celebrate Northeast Parade began several months ago. Last fall, Monemany Daoheuang, a LAO America staff person, took on the duties of dance choreographer and began preparing students for the annual Lao New Year celebration at Lincoln Community School in Minneapolis.

Throughout the winter and spring students practiced Lao dance twice each week. Every Wednesday and Saturday the kids practiced their moves over and over again. The practice paid off with a great performance on May 5, 2005 at Lincoln.

This was not the end of the year’s dancing. Soon the kids were called upon to display Lao culture, through dance, at the Minneapolis Mosaic, a festival to celebrate that cities cultural diversity. On this occasion the dancers were joined by some elders in the community who accompanied the kids with live music played on traditional Lao instruments.

Then came the big day, June 21, 2005; the day of the Celebrate Northeast Parade. Though the