Seattle Hmong New Year 2026 will be held on Saturday, November 14 at the Seattle Center Armory Food & Event Hall, with a free, family-friendly program built around Hmong culture. The opening ceremony starts at 12:00pm on the Armory stage, setting the schedule for a day of performances, exhibits and marketplace activities.
The event honors 50 years of Hmong culture and heritage in the United States. For attendees, that means a single-day gathering with dance, heritage displays, traditional clothing and food vendors, all under the same roof or just outside it.
Seattle Center Armory stage
The opening ceremony begins at 12:00pm and leads into returning dance groups Stella Luna and Nkauj Hmoob Spokane. Later in the day, the program shifts to a night concert that brings live band performances together with beats from a local DJ and guest artists Coolaycoo, Treasure, Johnny Lo and J.A.M.E.S.
That schedule gives visitors a clear path through the event: arrive for the ceremony, stay for the cultural performances, and finish with the concert. The structure also separates daytime heritage programming from the evening music set, which helps families plan around the parts they want to see most.
Heritage displays at Armory Lofts
Seattle Hmong New Year also includes an exhibit upstairs in the Armory Lofts, where guests can view traditional Hmong clothing with embroidery, needlework and silverwork. The same event area includes a vendor marketplace offering handcrafted gifts and jewelry.
Visitors can also join pov pob, the ball-tossing courtship game, and outdoor food vendors will serve Hmong sausage. Those details make the gathering more than a stage program: the event is built as a full-day place to see, eat and take part, rather than just watch from the side.
Festál and 25 festivals
Seattle Hmong New Year is part of Seattle Center Festál, the year-round series of 25 free cultural festivals. The event is described as the most important annual gathering for the Hmong community, where people give thanks to ancestors, honor elders and welcome a fresh start for the upcoming year.
For readers planning to attend, the main practical point is simple: the celebration is free, starts at noon, and centers the day around performances, exhibits and food at the Seattle Center Armory Food & Event Hall. The one detail still left open is attendance, which has not been stated.
