04-04-10-Cambodian dancers perform before the start of last year's annual Cambodian New Year parade that took place on Anaheim Street between Junipero Avenue and MacArthur Park in Long Beach. (Stephen Carr / Press-Telegram)
MacArthur Park celebration follows march down Anaheim.
By Greg Mellen,
Contra Costa Times Staff Writer
Posted: 03/31/2011
LONG BEACH — The seventh annual Cambodian New Year Parade, celebrating the Year of the Rabbit, hops off the curb Saturday at the corner of Junipero Avenue and Anaheim Street.
The event will begin at 9:30 a.m. with the traditional blessing of the event by Buddhist monks. The actual parade is slated to take off at 10 a.m. in front of the UCC Plaza.
There had been talk of shortening the parade route, but UCC building owner Gary Fultheim agreed to pay the extra money required to maintain the parade route launch point in front of his property.
This year's grand marshals are Sara Pol-Lim, Kimthai Kuoch, Jeanetta McAlpin and Steve Meng.
Kuoch is the executive director of the Cambodian Association of America and Pol-Lim is the executive director of the United Cambodian Community. CAA and UCC are the two main social service providers in Long Beach for Cambodian-Americans. McAlpin and Meng both have extensive backgrounds in helping Cambodians with their mental health, social and legal needs.
About 50 groups have signed up to participate in this year's event.
After the parade there will be entertainment and festivities at MacArthur Park until 4:30 p.m. For the second straight year a carnival will take place on the empty lot at Anaheim Street and Walnut Avenue.
Also for the second straight year, the parade takes place more than two weeks before the actual Cambodian New Year, which is a three-day celebration between April 14 and 16.
The parade and the New Year Celebration, which will be April 9 at El Dorado Park, moved their dates so as not to conflict with the 37 th annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.
Once again organizers struggled to pay for the event. In the past couple years donations have plummeted and not bounced back. Earlier this year, several meetings were staged to find ways to raise money or cut costs. Area teenagers staged a car wash to raise money and other fund-raisers helped the Cambodian Coordinating Council, which overseas both of the area's main Cambodian New Year events.
The Cambodian New Year Celebration April 9 at El Dorado Park Area III, 7550 E. Spring St, runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. It features religious ceremonies, ethnic food, games and live entertainment including traditional Khmer performances and music with popular Khmer singers.
Advance admission to the event is $23 per vehicle and $7 entrance fee to be paid to the city. Advance tickets are available at many Cambodian restaurants and businesses throughout Long Beach. See www.cam-cc.org for a complete list of locations.
greg.mellen@presstelegram.com, 562-499-1291
MacArthur Park celebration follows march down Anaheim.
By Greg Mellen,
Contra Costa Times Staff Writer
Posted: 03/31/2011
LONG BEACH — The seventh annual Cambodian New Year Parade, celebrating the Year of the Rabbit, hops off the curb Saturday at the corner of Junipero Avenue and Anaheim Street.
The event will begin at 9:30 a.m. with the traditional blessing of the event by Buddhist monks. The actual parade is slated to take off at 10 a.m. in front of the UCC Plaza.
There had been talk of shortening the parade route, but UCC building owner Gary Fultheim agreed to pay the extra money required to maintain the parade route launch point in front of his property.
This year's grand marshals are Sara Pol-Lim, Kimthai Kuoch, Jeanetta McAlpin and Steve Meng.
Kuoch is the executive director of the Cambodian Association of America and Pol-Lim is the executive director of the United Cambodian Community. CAA and UCC are the two main social service providers in Long Beach for Cambodian-Americans. McAlpin and Meng both have extensive backgrounds in helping Cambodians with their mental health, social and legal needs.
About 50 groups have signed up to participate in this year's event.
After the parade there will be entertainment and festivities at MacArthur Park until 4:30 p.m. For the second straight year a carnival will take place on the empty lot at Anaheim Street and Walnut Avenue.
Also for the second straight year, the parade takes place more than two weeks before the actual Cambodian New Year, which is a three-day celebration between April 14 and 16.
The parade and the New Year Celebration, which will be April 9 at El Dorado Park, moved their dates so as not to conflict with the 37 th annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.
Once again organizers struggled to pay for the event. In the past couple years donations have plummeted and not bounced back. Earlier this year, several meetings were staged to find ways to raise money or cut costs. Area teenagers staged a car wash to raise money and other fund-raisers helped the Cambodian Coordinating Council, which overseas both of the area's main Cambodian New Year events.
The Cambodian New Year Celebration April 9 at El Dorado Park Area III, 7550 E. Spring St, runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. It features religious ceremonies, ethnic food, games and live entertainment including traditional Khmer performances and music with popular Khmer singers.
Advance admission to the event is $23 per vehicle and $7 entrance fee to be paid to the city. Advance tickets are available at many Cambodian restaurants and businesses throughout Long Beach. See www.cam-cc.org for a complete list of locations.
greg.mellen@presstelegram.com, 562-499-1291
2 comments:
All the dancers in this picture are so pretty and lovely but somehow I perceived something is wrong or out of place. So please anyone with real knowledge of Khmer dance and Khmer custume please help correcting me if I am wrong or misunderstood. But let me say this first,I appreciate Khmer oversea who try very hard to preserve Khmer culture and with this same spirit that urge me to pose this question. It is about the crowns that these dancers wore.Are they really the type of Apsara Khmer crowns or something else? Are they Indonesian Bali crown or worst yet Thai type of crown.Am I too much concerned? But if they are from Thailand or Thai store, it make me feel nausea!
12:29 AM,I'm not of a great helper you looking for but have noticed the thing you pointed out. I have Khmer paint of Angkor Apsara with different hair dress apparel, an elongated piece of crown wrap around to lower ear lobe. It is so beautiful. May be our Cambodian American of Long Beach can not find many types to choose then pick the one that available to them.
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