TAI VILLAGE FESTIVAL 

Six Tai organizations and 40 individual families joined together and founded the Tai Village, Inc. They pooled their resources and acquired a 120 acre piece of land, north of ML King Jr. Pkwy, in October 2003. A Board of Directors was established with a mission to:  create a working replica of a traditional Tai Dam village to honor the thousands of Iowans who opened their hearts to refugees and to recognize the legacy of the Tai Dam people: their beautiful culture, history, sacrifices, and dreams for the future. The Tai Village, Inc. organization has successfully met the first goals they have set in developing this project.  Land was cleared with the help of  Lower Beaver Neighborhood Association members, friends, the city and Polk County, fences put up bordering the property; the first festival was held in July 2007, ground was broken and the first structures built (3 small gazebos), the lake cleaned out 40 fruit trees were planted and the welcoming center are finished.