Recommendation to request City Council to receive and file a presentation in recognition of Cambodian New Year.
Councilman Allen. Councilman, the death. Motion is carried. 17. Communication from Councilwoman Sara recommendation to request City Council to receive and file a presentation and recognition of Cambodian New Year. Thank you. So I'm really honored to be able to present on the Cambodian New Year. So with that, I will start with Page and I'm to my to those in our audience as well as Happy Cambodian New Year. I want to first think I'll be TV for their hard work and support in putting together this video presentation. And I want to thank Mia Lath Chan with Sam Lehman and the venerable Gerrit Chi for being in the video. And I think at some may most me some may know that the Long Beach has the largest Cambodian community in the United States. And I just want to thank those who are here today as well for being present. And I believe I'll make some comments later. But with that said, I'd like for us to play the video and then open to public comments and then my colleagues. Simply pull that date and I'm coming. Hello. Happy New Year. I'm honored to present this year's 2022 Cambodian New Year presentation, where we interview Cambodian leaders from across three generations to learn why the New Year is important to them and the Cambodian community in Long Beach. Cambodians, Thai, Laotians and Burmese celebrate the same new year called Sankranti, a three day festival that takes place in the mid-April. That is the most important holiday. This year the festival begins on April 14th, 15th and 16th. Not only is the new year a time to mark the beginning of a new year, but it's also an opportunity to pass on knowledge to our tradition, to younger generations. I hope you enjoy the presentation. Cambodian New Year is the biggest celebration for our Cambodian people. It is a festival of unity. It all started when people who work for the Royal Palace had knowledge of astrology, and so they did the calculation and determined that April is the time for the celebration. Cambodian is an agricultural country, so the people work the land throughout the year and so forth to give them the time to celebrate. It's always at the end of the harvest. Cambodian New Year about family. It's about tradition where men and women would dress in their best attire, especially women and their silk and their white lace and attend a temple, and to reconnect with family and friends where they haven't seen each other in a while. When people think about Cambodia, they think about the recent darkness that we went through. But I think Cambodian New Year is a time where we get to celebrate all the things that are good and beautiful about being Cambodian. My favorite activity during the celebration is eating, of course. I feel like this is the time when everyone passes out their best beefsteak and papaya salad recipes and definitely my favorite due of the first night of Cambodian New Year. I would set up a table where there's lots of fruits and flower surround with my ancestors pictures and candles, and it's a way to remember our ancestors the way we celebrate, not just with the living, but also remember those that have given us life. My motto on New Year's Day Usually morning begins with what we call merit making. We sit at home. People are bringing food to offer for the monks, you know, to perform good deeds as a as a family. That is why it's important to. Cameron and Clark audience is an art form that's over a thousand years old during the Korean empire. The Kings would host monsoon or prayer ceremonies with dancers as offerings to ask the gods for rain and blessings for the New Year. It's important that we have it today because during the four years of the Khmer Rouge genocide, only 10% of artists survived. When people watch the dance performances, I hope that they feel a sort of peace and healing and some hope for the future. We are resilient, but we contribute a lot to the development of the Islamic community itself. So I think it's important for us to continue to share that. I would like to wish all people adoring the Cambodian New Year to have prosperity, happiness and good health and longevity for all the people. Thank you. Madam. Quick, do any public comment on the. There are four speakers on this item. Mariko can't sit this one. So Tia Pi and South Sun can. Hello, Mayor and city council members. My name is Mariko Kohn. I am a board officer of Cambodia Town Inc and the former executive director of Pacific Asian Counseling Services. I have been a strong advocate for Cambodians in Long Beach, especially funding for mental health services and public health services for the past six years. I'm here to speak in favor of our 17, which is a recommendation to file in recognition of Cambodian New Year. It adds specificity to the 2020 designation of Cambodian Heritage Month by the city. It continues the history of recognizing the Cambodian community and traditions, starting with the Honorable Don Nob and vigorously continued by Board of Supervisor Janice Hahn. Since she was elected in 2016. On Sunday, April 3rd. Of. This year, Cambodia Town Inc co-hosted the 14th annual Cambodian New Year Parade and Culture Festival with Councilman Supernova. I want to give a special shout out to him because he kept his pledge to support the parade even though his district was changed by redistricting. So I want to say thank you, sir. The success of this year's Parade and Culture Festival emphasizes how important Cambodian New Year is to this community. People of all ages came. There were thousands. The parade had over 35 groups and 50 booths in the festival. It was focused on Cambodian culture and arts. It was also very inclusive. So there were diverse ethnic groups in the parade and at the festival. Honestly, people loved it and they all came up to us later and said, Please do this again soon, but we do have to wait one year. So we also, the Cambodia Town Inc diligently invited many community leaders and electeds, just like we do every year. I want to give our thanks again to council member supermodel Susie Price, who was there, and our Austin City prosecutor, Doug Hubert. Assembly member Patrick O'Donnell. Signal Hill Council Member Ed Wilson. Linda Chico from Supervisor Honda office and Fong Lee from Congressmember Lowenthal, as well as Bill. A wave. Of. Cambodian New Year is one of the most important spiritual and cultural events for this community. The theme for this year's parade was Legacy of Kami Anger and unity. That is very powerful. Given the anti AAPI hate we experienced during the pandemic. Times expired. Okay. Thank you. Well, I have one more sentence, but thank you. Good evening, honorable mayor, member of the City Council and elected official. My name is City Assan and I am the chairperson of Cambodia Town in Happy Cambodian Heritage Month and Happy New Year, Year of the Tiger. So as an Asian I'm Carl to everyone here tonight from the east. From the very beginning, Cambodia town has worked tirelessly with other Cambodian community based organization and friends to preserve and to promote my art and culture. We work hard to unify our community by hosting the annual Cambodian New Year Parade and Cultural Festival in Cambodia Town District and My New Year celebration at Eldorado Park in Long Beach. This past Sunday, April 3rd, we brought back the annual Parade and Culture Festival to the Cambodian town district. After a two year absence due to the pandemic, several thousand revelers came to join in the celebration. The event provided an opportunity to folk to reconnect with family and friends, and they have missed seeing in person since the start of the pandemic in 2020. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the following for their participation in this year's celebration. Councilman Darryl Super NULL. Councilwoman Suzy Pride Council Councilman Al Austin City Prosecutor Doug Cubert. Assembly Member Patrick O'Donnell. Councilman Edmondson of Signal Hill. Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn represented to her Linda Chico, Congressman Alan LoBiondo, Representative Fong Lee and Sheriff Alex Villano you over the proposal to file a presentation in recognition of Cambodian New Year? This is in line with our mission. Therefore, on behalf of Cambodia town in I fully support this recommendation proposed by Councilwoman Soli Sato. Thank you. Honorable Major Council members. My name is occupied in the Indigenous. I'm on the Council of Cambodia in. Susannah George. My. Happy my new year. Thank you to Cambodia town and council member for co-hosting a pivotal and impactful 14 annual Cambodia Town Parade and Cultural Festival on April 30,000 people. Including elders, children, youth, family, community based organization, local businesses, the resident of Long Beach and even people from out of state and countries gather to honor this year's theme of my and Korean legacy and unity. And to celebrate my New Year and Heritage Month, we would like to recognize many government officials who came, including Assembly Member Patrick O'Donnell, Long Beach City Prosecutor. Mr. Doc Hubbard. Los Angeles County Department Sheriff Alex Wheeler. New Area Council Councilwoman Suzy Pry Council Woman Council Member Laura Supernova. Linda Chico representing Los Angeles County Supervisor Janet Hahn. Councilmember Al Osbourne. City of Seattle Hills member Wilson and Mr. Fong Lee, who represented Congress Member Alan Lowenthal. Your participation and support reflect the community interest, equitable leadership. And commitment to ensure cultural equity, diversity and inclusion, community support, embracing all diverse community and culture, including my New Year. We hope that all City Council members will join us at the 15 annual Cambodia Town Poet and Culture Festival next year. Susan George Moorhouse. I'm grand. Happy. My life. Burmese. Sinhala. All. Sri Lanka. Nepali. Thai. Bangladeshi born Mangal in Bengali community in Assam and Tripura in India between April 13 to 16. Thank you. Well. Oh, my. Good evening, everyone. My name. He sighs and can. I am here today. We are tomorrow and available from different temples throughout the city. Language and behalf of all women and girls who like to say thank you. Everyone, especially council woman Sully. Settle for a reuniting. Come on in New Year, as you saw in this picture. It is very important holy day for Cambodian in Southeast Asian community. And we all appreciate the city's support and continue to that this holiday. And I would like to play for you people. The car, but then the car. Yeah, but, uh. Yeah, the guy. And then the guy under the bed. Bye bye. And then starting lie down for one. And I know they're great. So, my dear, that was a great night and all how I know. So my ideas are mine but not all how I know they could. I saw them, I guess. And I think like. Uh. Um. Uh. To. Uh. To. That concludes public comment. Victory Richardson. Yes. So I just thank you so much for those who attend came to speak and share your comments. I want to express my appreciation for everybody who has been part of helping to ensure we uplift the Cambodian community's tradition in celebrating the new year. And it's a time, as stated in the video and as stated in various theme, it is about unity. And I look forward in our pathway towards there in the ways that we can work together as a community and as a city to celebrate our annual tradition. Thank you very much. I'll just add my my thanks to Councilwoman Ciro for bringing such a great video and presentation and to everyone who spoke today. Jumping. I'm so happy New Year to you. Look forward to continuing to celebrate your tremendous culture here in our city of Long Beach. Thank you. Compliments of the house. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Councilmember Sara, for this great presentation today. I think that that's one of the beauties that we have here in the city of Long Beach is being able to celebrate our diversity and what a beautiful tradition to celebrate. I'm really happy to be in be able to celebrate Cambodian New Year's. So happy Cambodian New Year to everyone. You. Thank you, sir. There's no additional comment. Correct. Okay. Well, thank you. We're going to go ahead. And do I believe a photo complimentary? Did you want to? Yeah, I was wondering if we as a council member can join the community who came up for the item to take a group picture? I believe there's a few resolutions presented from the mayor's office, so I was wondering, we can do that really quick. If you guys could come over just to do a quick because I know that I and those that came for the item maybe can come forward. And as the whole council, if we can go forward and just take a group picture because. We're going to do consent. -12 and eight, though. We need a vote on this item first and then I'm sorry. We need to cast our votes on this item. Yes. Okay. Can you activate it? Yeah. Councilman Austin. If you can cast your vote. Thank you. Motion is carried. All right. Now we're going to take the the consent calendar one through 13, except eight, 11 and 12. Okay. It's been moved and seconded as a public comment on the consent.