Two Cambodian Dance Troupe of Oregon performers pose before their appearance at the inaugural Cambodian/Laotian/Thai New Year Celebration in the Park. Memo photo/Tim Curran

Two Cambodian Dance Troupe of Oregon performers pose before their appearance at the inaugural Cambodian/Laotian/Thai New Year Celebration in the Park.
Memo photo/Tim Curran

Jealousy is not usually a productive emotion; however, in restaurateur Saron (Ron) Khut’s case it served him well.

While visiting his California relatives during the three-day Asian New Year, Khut always went to large festivals that made him jealous. “When I visit relatives, they always have these big New Year celebrations,” he said. “I was always jealous of those celebrations.”

Since Cambodia, Laos and Thailand share the same New Year dates in mid-April, Khut wanted to bring Portland’s three communities together and celebrate each other’s culture. “I thought it was something that was missing here, and I wanted to bring that feeling to Portland.”

The inaugural Cambodian/Laotian/Thai New Year Celebration in the Park was held Saturday, April 25 at Glenhaven Park, which happens to be across the street from Mekong Bistro, Khut’s restaurant.

The event featured cuisine from the three countries, games and cultural performances.

To avoid competing with the many individual, separate New Year celebrations in the area among the three communities, Khut scheduled the event at the end of the month instead of closer to or on the actual date of the New Year in mid-April. “There are lots of other celebrations then,” he said. “I didn’t want to interfere with other communities’ celebrations, which is why we chose this date. They’ve already had their celebrations by now.”

Last year when Khut discovered Portland Parks & Recreation personnel were having lunch at his Cambodian restaurant, he shared his idea with them about sponsoring an Asian New Year’s event like those in California. The bureau, according to the PP&R website, “happily signed on,” and not only did they give organizers a $3000 budget for the first three years, they also waived many fees associated with putting on an event that size.

John Mills, who lives in the Grant neighborhood and read about the event in that day’s Oregonian, has a close affinity to people from Southeast Asian regions. He said that in the eighties he and his wife worked at a Lao and Hmong refugee camp on the Cambodian border. “This is great; what an incredible start,” he said. “This is their first year and they pulled in a lot of people.” Historically, the three countries do not get along well. Mills said he was impressed with the collaboration. “Those countries don’t get along, but they’re doing really well here in Portland.”