Under warm, sunny skies hundreds gathered in celebration of Cambodian New Year in the heart of White Center, Washington on April 25, 2026.
Families celebrated with freshly cooked Cambodian new years dishes, a blessing ceremony by local Cambodian Buddhist monks, traditional dance performances, and soul-cleansing baby powder and water splashes that sent roars of laughs through the crowds.
Traditionally known as Choul Chnam Thmey (or Chaul Chnam Thmey), this celebration traces back to the Angkor Empire and traditionally coincided with the end of the harvest season. Distinct from lunar new year celebrations, the event continues to be a central event bringing together the Cambodian American community of all ages.
Organized by the community volunteer organization Cambodian Cultural Alliance of Washington, the event was established back in 2002 ‘to provide support to community-based performance groups and to create learning opportunities for youths about traditional Cambodian arts and culture.’ according to their website.
Today, the event brings Khmer community members from all across Washington. Many of the dancers themselves travel from across the state to come to White Center for this beloved annual festival, says Rady Mey Oum, teacher of the group Cambodian Classical and Folk Dance of the Northwest that performed at the event.
“Today, our dancers travel from Marysville, from Lynnwood, Everett and as far south as Olympia, Lacey, Tacoma, Federal Way to join here together,” said Oum. The dances are “a gift, to give our people, our community a sense of belonging while living in the United States.”
As of 2020, Washington is home to the third largest population of Cambodian Americans [The Asian American Education Project]. For many living in Washington State, White Center is home, formed by those families who came to the United States as part of the 1980’s wave of refugees escaping the Cambodian Genocide.
Cambodian Classical and Folk Dance of the Northwest, was the first Khmer dance group to be formed in the Pacific Northwest in 1982 by the first refugee families who arrived in Washington State, said Oum.
“We couldn’t bring anything. We lost everything. But what our parents brought with them was this rich culture and heritage. They were so afraid that their children would lose their identity, and arts and culture. And so having a dance group is what empowered them to feel a sense of belonging.”
Looking ahead, Oum shares that she is hopeful to see so many young people at the New Year festival. “Be proud of who you are. Where you are from. Where your parents come from, it’s so important.”
Young performers look on attentively at an Apsara performance. Photo by Theo Bickel.
Photo by Theo Bickel.
The flag of Cambodia flies in the reflection of a White Center taco truck. White Center is a multicultural community, home to many Latino families and businesses. Photo by Theo Bickel.
Laughs and screams of teenagers echoed across the event as they took part in the traditional smearing of baby powder, water gun fights, and shaving cream smearing to symbolize good luck and purification in the new years festival Photo by Theo Bickel.
Theodore Kenzo Dante Bickel is a Seattle-based photographer who has contributed to the International Examiner since 2024. He uses visual storytelling to showcase the vitality of the Chinatown-International District and contemporary Asian American communities in Seattle. He is Shin-Nikkei Japanese American. Born in Portland, Oregon, he grew up in the wilds of southwest Washington state. Theo, or “Tay-o” as his friends call him, found himself putting down roots in the C-ID shortly after arriving in Seattle in 2013. He has spent over a decade working in C-ID community non-profits in development, community engagement, civil rights advocacy, and communications. Theo was one of seven Seattle-based Asian American photographers that published the photography exhibit “Through the Eyes of a Tiger” in May 2023. The photo exhibit blended holistic, not homogenous, views of the C-ID in a critical time of regrowth and development.
