A New Year’s celebration will be held Monday at the Impala Ballroom, and everyone is invited.

Hosted by the Karen community, an ethnic group from Burma, the event will feature free food, music and dancing.

Jeff Heiden, a friend of the community, said the celebration is a way for the Karen to share their culture. A realtor, he has helped many of the families buy and sell homes in Marshalltown.

“New Year is huge,” he said. “There is no religion. It is a time for family and friends to get together, and see each other, see people from other towns.”

Heiden said for previous New Year’s, people from Des Moines, Minnesota, New York, New Jersey and more have traveled to Marshalltown for the celebration. He estimated roughly 600 people show up for the event each year, and hopes more Marshalltown residents will attend.

“They are sharing their culture,” Heiden said. “They are good people and friends who live and work in Marshalltown. They want everyone to know they are welcome to come and learn their culture and history.”

In addition to the traditional music and dancing groups, he said vendors will be present.

“It’s not a party, but a sense of belonging,” Heiden said.

The Karen in Marshalltown have gone through hardships caused by the ongoing conflict in their home country, often referred to as both Myanmar and Burma. After fleeing and experiencing life in refugee camps, they have managed to find their way to Marshalltown, and hope to expose residents to their customs, he said.

The Karen are the third largest ethnic group in Myanmar, comprising seven percent of the country’s population. According to the Karen Organization of Minnesota website, the Burmese military have been engaging in a campaign against them since the 1960s and have utilized “scorched Earth” tactics. As a result, members of the community have fled as refugees to Thailand, the United States, Canada, Denmark and more. Since 2015, more than 64,500 Karen refugees have settled in America.

EVENT INFORMATION:

Location: Impala Ballroom, 1005 Lincoln Way

Date: Monday

Time: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

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Contact Lana Bradstream

at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or

lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.