gazettes
A Cambodian New Year celebration is happening Sunday in the city.
The 10th annual Cambodia Town Culture Festival — hosted by Fourth District Councilman Daryl Supernaw and Sixth District Councilman Dee Andrews — will include an entire day of food, games and performances.
"Councilman (Andrews) supports this event because we have such a large Cambodian community in Long Beach," Connor Lock, political analyst for Andrews, said. "This is a great way to bring the community together and introduce other people in Long Beach to a Cambodian celebration."
The festival is paid for in part by a grant from the Arts Council for Long Beach, as well as a grant from the city, Lock said.
Cambodia Town Festival 2016
A woman pours water on a Buddha statue during the Annual Cambodia Town Culture Festival in 2016.
—Photo courtesy Cambodia Town, Inc.
The festivities begin at 8:30 a.m. this Sunday, April 8, at the Mark Twain Library. Activities throughout the day will include a beauty pageant, fashion show, dance contest and more.
Participants for the beauty pageant should be onsite at 9 a.m. on the corner of 14th Street and Warren Avenue to register. The procession to the Mark Twain Library will begin at 9:30 a.m., according to the festival program.
At 10:30 a.m., the temple booth (located at Anaheim Street and Gundry Avenue) will kick off with a Buddhist Ceremony, which includes offering alms to the monks and cleansing Buddha statues.
Cultural performances will start on the main stage promptly at at 11 a.m., Lock said. The performances include the Khmer Art dancers and a magic show.
"This is going to be a space where people in Long Beach can connect to each other," Lock said. "They can connect to their neighbors and to the Cambodian culture, which is alive in the city."
The Long Beach Cambodian community celebrated the ninth annual Cambodia Town Culture Festival last year.
—Gazette photo by Geronimo Quitoriano
Festival guests can enter a raffle for various prizes. To register, go to the information booth by noon. The drawings will happen at 2 p.m. and winners must be present at the time their name is called to accept the prize.
At 1 p.m., the Romvong dance contest will happen at the main stage. The first prize winner will receive $300.
Other attractions include food, games and artwork, which will be available for purchase all day.
Public parking is available on Anaheim Street between Peterson Avenue and Walnut Avenue. Additionally, Gundry Avenue between Anaheim Street and 14th Street will be closed between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m., and 14th Street will be closed between Warren Avenue and Gundry Avenue from 8 to 11 a.m. on Sunday.
"This event is one of my favorites every year," Andrews said in a release. "It offers a window into the magnificent and ancient culture that makes the Cambodian community of Long Beach so vibrant."
To register for free, go to Eventbrite.com and search for the "Cambodia Town Culture Festival."
The free Cambodia Town Culture Festival will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Mark Twain Neighborhood Library, 1401 E. Anaheim St.
Stephanie Stutzman can be reached at sstutzman@gazettes.com.
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