18th annual Cambodian Town Parade and Culture Festival<\/a> on Saturday, April 4.<\/p>\n\u201cAfter a meaningful process with the community,\u201d Richardson said in a statement, \u201cwe are proud to unveil the Cambodian Town Gateway \u2013 a landmark that reflects the pride, history and cultural richness of Long Beach\u2019s Cambodian community.<\/p>\n
\u201cCambodia Town is a cornerstone of our city, and this gateway stands as a powerful tribute to a community whose resilience and contributions have helped shape who we are,\u201d the mayor added. \u201cAs we continue investing in neighborhoods through Elevate \u201828, this grand entrance will welcome residents and visitors for generations to come.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cambodia Town, located along Anaheim Street between Atlantic and Junipero avenues, is home to the largest Cambodian community outside of the Southeast Asian country. Many settled in Long Beach in the early 1980s as hundreds of thousands of Cambodian refugees flocked to the U.S. seeking safety from the brutality of the communist Khmer Rouge, whose regime resulted in the genocide of nearly 2 million people.<\/p>\n
Through advocacy and celebrations such as the annual parade and festival, many members of Long Beach\u2019s Cambodian community work toward preserving and highlighting Khmer culture \u2013 and working with the city on this gateway sign is one of those ways.<\/p>\n
Throughout the creative process, the city worked with the community and local organizations to design a grand entrance that both honors Cambodian culture, and celebrates and uplifts Cambodia Town\u2019s history and identity, according to a press release. Initial concept designs were informed by the Cambodia Town Advisory Group, which provided insight and guidance on Cambodian culture, symbolism and significant motifs.<\/p>\n
The final design was also informed by direct community feedback at last year\u2019s parade and festival, and an online survey, made available in English, Spanish, Khmer and Tagalog, allowing residents to provide feedback and vote on their preferred concept. More than 1,000 votes and survey responses were collected both online and in-person, with nearly 70% of respondents favoring the unveiled design.<\/p>\n
\u201cCambodia Town is an integral cultural heartbeat of Council District 6, and this project is a meaningful step toward honoring the Cambodian community\u2019s heritage and identity,\u201d Saro said in a statement. \u201cBy working together with residents, we\u2019re building a gateway that reflects the pride, resilience and vibrancy of this neighborhood.\u201d<\/p>\n
The \u201cCambodian Town Grand Entrance\u201d project will join many others delivered by the Public Works Department to enhance the neighborhood, alongside the Mark Twain Library improvements, the MLK Jr. Park swimming pool improvements and the recently completed MacArthur Park Rehabilitation project.\u00a0 These projects are part of Long Beach\u2019s Elevate \u201828 Infrastructure Investment Plan, an initiative aimed at enhancing city parks, community facilities, mobility access and streets.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur team is proud to lead the development of a landmark that honors the cultural richness of Cambodia Town,\u201d Josh Hickman, director of Public Works, said in a statement. \u201cCommunity feedback was essential as we worked to create a gateway that not only celebrates Cambodian heritage but also supports local businesses and enhances the public space for the people who live, work, and visit here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Construction is tentatively scheduled to begin in 2027, officials said, pending full funding and completion of the bid and award process. It is anticipated to be completed ahead of the 2028 Summer Olympics.<\/p>\n
The city is actively working to identify potential funding sources as Public Works continues the work needed to begin the project construction, according to the press release. While a majority of the funding has been secured \u2013 through Measure A funds \u2013 the Cambodia Town Advisory Group will also launch a fundraising campaign for additional money to support a perforated screen to enhance the gateway sign.<\/p>\n
For more information about the \u201cCambodia Town Grand Entrance\u201d project, visit lbcity.info\/CTGrandEntrance<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cambodia Town \u2013 Long Beach\u2019s cultural hub for Khmer-owned businesses, restaurants, art, music and heritage \u2013 will soon…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":256667,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[7,179,23,131,133,132,137],"class_list":["post-256666","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-long-beach","tag-california","tag-community","tag-local-news","tag-long-beach","tag-long-beach-headlines","tag-long-beach-news","tag-los-angeles-county"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256666","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=256666"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256666\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/256667"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=256666"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=256666"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=256666"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}