Backers celebrate \u2018creative district\u2019 designation for Long Beach<\/p>\n
Published 1:55 pm Sunday, February 15, 2026<\/p>\n
LONG BEACH \u2014 Supporters are celebrating the Long Beach Creative District being approved by state arts leaders.<\/p>\n
Bill Svendsen was delighted at the news.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was relieved,\u201d he said, looking back upon a year of effort. \u201cWe have put a lot of time into it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Svendsen is a long-time arts promoter who runs the Peninsula Arts Center just north of the downtown Long Beach core.<\/p>\n
He has spearheaded the effort while keeping supporters updated on a Long Beach Creative District Facebook page.<\/p>\n
The designation is a concept that more than 20 Washington cities from Anacortes to Woodinville have earned.<\/p>\n
\u2018Transformative initiative\u2019<\/p>\n
In its application to the Washington State Arts Commission approved Feb. 5, leaders labeled the effort \u201ca transformative initiative that will celebrate the town\u2019s unique attributes while fostering innovation, community engagement and economic prosperity.\u201d<\/p>\n
One goal is to become a model.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy cultivating a vibrant environment where art and culture thrive, Long Beach can become a model for creative placemaking and a destination for inspiration and connection,\u201d leaders said.<\/p>\n
The four-point vision statement seeks to:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Boost the economy<\/p>\n
\u2022 Promote cultural expression<\/p>\n
\u2022 Strengthen community connections<\/p>\n
\u2022 Preserve local heritage<\/p>\n
The application spelled out a three-year program of actions with marketing strategies and signs. Svendsen noted signs and brochures will be among early activities.<\/p>\n
Concrete projects include enhancing the farmers and arts markets at Veterans Field with an indoor structure for year-round use, helping to meet the goal of expanding the visitor season beyond the April to September peak.<\/p>\n
Cooperation<\/p>\n
Numbers gathered by local, county and state agencies note that almost 1.2 million people visit the Long Beach Peninsula each year, the majority in that timeframe.<\/p>\n
The effort reflects the Long Beach Merchants Association\u2019s work in organizing community events like the Razor Clam Festival, Music in the Park and the Sandsations sandcastle contest. All three bring in revenue that exceeds expenses, according to 2024 tallies. The group has an annual budget of more than $200,000, funded in part by lodging taxes collected by the city of Long Beach and Pacific County.<\/p>\n
The application noted the cooperation between the merchants\u2019 group, the city of Long Beach and two Pacific County entities, the Economic Development Council and the Tourism Bureau.<\/p>\n
The Long Beach City Council unanimously passed a resolution of support in December 2024. Restaurant and gallery owners, artists, musicians and people representing arts groups provided letters of support.<\/p>\n
In its proposed budget, the district estimated $38,000 on marketing and signs and an annual budget of $16,500.<\/p>\n
Beyond Long Beach<\/p>\n
The state program requires a district to be walkable. Ilwaco is pursuing its own district.<\/p>\n
Long Beach has a target area of 15 blocks long and four blocks wide, stretching from the Kite Museum north to the Transparent Owl studio; city statistics from 2025 showed it was home to 22 \u201ccreative establishments\u201d employing 67 people.<\/p>\n
Preliminary maps created by backers highlight activities outside the Long Beach boundaries, including Ocean Park, where businesses like the Bay Avenue Gallery play an important role in promoting the arts economy through classes and sales.<\/p>\n
The \u201cmetrics for success\u201d in the planning documents include boosting foot traffic, increasing tourism revenue and adding arts-related businesses. Once time has passed, residents will be surveyed about perceptions of quality of life improvements.<\/p>\n
The group that spearheaded the designation is gearing up for a Creative Arts Month festival with artists booths and live music. The event is timed to coincide with the year of the 250th (semiquincentennial) anniversary of the United States. Svendsen said the group is considering September, although no firm dates are set. There will be a ribbon cutting ceremony at some point to celebrate the district.<\/p>\n
As well as storefront exhibits, a 50-year time capsule will be buried. A contest for a sculpture will be announced and a \u201cpassport\u201d scavenger hunt is planned. Other potential annual projects outlined in the application include festivals showcasing acoustic music and brews and spirits.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Backers celebrate \u2018creative district\u2019 designation for Long Beach Published 1:55 pm Sunday, February 15, 2026 By PATRICK WEBB\/For…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":179528,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[131,133,132],"class_list":{"0":"post-179527","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-long-beach","8":"tag-long-beach","9":"tag-long-beach-headlines","10":"tag-long-beach-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179527","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=179527"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179527\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/179528"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=179527"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=179527"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=179527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}