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Volume 13, Issue #1. Published on November 3, 2004
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Paradise At Fresno Fair
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Toua Herr
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Cotton candy, games, food, carnival rides, crafts farm animals …and music!
This year’s Fresno Fair wasn't just another fair to let go and forget. For the first time in Fresno history, an Asian band was selected to play at the fairground as one of the many music headliners. The band chosen to perform on Oct. 10 was none other than Fresno’s very own Hmong band, Paradise.
With multi-hit albums, Paradise is no stranger to Hmong communities throughout the U.S. Not only, have they contributed their musical skills they also promoted higher education for many Hmong teens.
In the past, band members Nao Vang, Long Her, Cina Chang, Haget Yang, Phong Yang, April Vang and Ko Yang have set up fundraisers for scholarships for students to continue onto college.
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Photo by Toua Herr
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Musical Hmong band Paradise mesmerizes fair goers.
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Some of the band members, currently attending CSU Fresno, are also taking time to travel to high schools throughout the central valley where they can promote and motivate students to choose a path to higher education.
On the night of Paradise’s performance as the crowd waited for the show to start, excitement could be felt by everyone around the stage. Young people weren’t the only members of the audience; parents and grandparents had come out to support the band. For some, this was their first real concert.
At the appointed time, Paradise came out onto the stage full of energy. As the concert went on people were dancing and singing along to their favorite songs, some were in tears and smiling.
Paradise was only on stage for an hour, but performed a second show later in the evening. More people showed up to support the band then at the first.
As the last song closed, the crowd couldn’t stop clapping for they knew that they were a part of Hmong history.
More information about the band can be found at
www.paradiseband.com.
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