Osseo Area Schools celebrate Asian American Pacific Islander Month

May is Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Month, and many schools around Osseo Area Schools are commemorating the recognition month with events that highlight the importance of Asian cultures and traditions. 

At Fair Oaks Elementary School, students celebrated with Hmong American Day presentations on May 14. The program ran throughout the day, with classrooms stopping in to hear a book about Hmong people’s immigration to the United States, watch a traditional Hmong dance and learn one themselves, and try out a variety of traditional Hmong foods. The Hmong Cultural Center provided materials from their traveling exhibit for attendees to view. 

Palmer Lake Elementary School hosted an AAPI museum May 16, where students could enter an immersive space dedicated to sharing information about Asian cultures, clothing, food and significant people and events. 

Additionally, both Palmer Lake and Garden City hosted multicultural nights this month, where many different cultures, including those from many different Asian countries, were recognized and celebrated. Garden City’s event included a traditional form of Hmong textile art called Pa’ndau and Kumihimo braiding, which is a Japanese yarn braiding technique. Palmer Lake’s event featured a dragon dance team, food such as sticky rice with Hmong sausage and egg rolls and information about Hmong music and instruments that students have been learning about in class the last few weeks.