Cambodian Cultural Alliance of Washington (CCAW) is hosting its 20th annual celebration for the Cambodian New Year — a few weeks after the holiday — via livestream on May 28. Past New Year’s celebrations took place as street festivals in White Center; however, last year was the group’s first virtual celebration due to the pandemic.
While the holiday traditionally takes place April 13–16, the local Khmer diaspora celebrates every weekend of the month. Khmer enclaves dot the I-5 corridor, from Snohomish County all the way down to Vancouver. Many in the community are blue-collar workers who can only celebrate on weekends as Khmer New Year is not an officially recognized holiday and therefore cannot be taken off from work.