from Anchorage Daily News
Posted: April 16, 2011 – 3:19 pm
Inside Khan Meas place in Mountain View, the Cambodian New Years party was in full swing by 10pm on Friday, April 15. The living room floor was converted into a dance hall, complete with spinning colored lights. Two microphones were passed around as people shouted cheers and holiday greetings to one another. Trays of barbecue chicken wings, rice and noodles sat almost empty on the kitchen counters. Thul Chey watched from the side of the room. Chey, who has lived in Anchorage for 35 years, far longer than most others in the room, said there are about 40 families in the Anchorage Cambodian community. Most came to Anchorage in the late 1980s. He says it’s a far smaller group than those who are here from neighboring Asian nations, Laos and Thailand, who are also celebrating their Buddhist New Year’s holiday this week. On Friday, it was enough to fill the house for one of the biggest celebrations of the year. Men, women and children dance together in a slow clockwise direction around the floor, gracefully moving their hands in front of them. The positive vibe in the room is something Chey says the Cambodians pride themselves on. Even at a long party in a tight space people never seem to get tense with one another, he says. Meas, photographed earlier in the day, says he’s been hosting the New Year’s party for about ten years.
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Buddhist Art News 