My family and I visited the Long Beach Japanese Cultural Center yesterday for its annual community festival and we loved it. The center is located near the Port of Los Angeles by the Pacific Coast Hwy. The parking lot was used for the booths, so we had to park on the street, which was fine because there are no parking meters to deal with and we got our exercise by walking around the block to the center. My kids loved the udon with shrimp and fish tempura, which was not only delicious but also dirt cheap, and that is a big deal, especially considering that a family of four cannot eat under 20 bucks nowadays. However, what we all loved the most was the group dancing and the music. It was fascinating to see peoples of all walks of life coming together to celebrate life. Many non-Japanese paid tribute to this fascinating culture by dressing in the very traditional kimonos and participating in the line dancing and chanting. I thought this was the highlight of the event because it taught my children the beauty of diversity and partaking of other people’s traditions. Also, through this visit we learned that the city of Long Beach actually has a large representation of Japanese and other Asian groups, which was new to me because I was under the erroneous impression that it is primarily populated by Blacks and Latinos. In fact, I also learned that there are several major cultural events coming up in Long Beach during the summer, which include a Greek festival and the what we’re looking forward to the most – the Chinese Dragon Boats Races and Festival (July 30-31)! If any one is interested in attending, go to http://www.lbdragoboat.com , or if anyone would like more information about the Long Beach Japanese Cultural Center and all the awesome classes (including martial and origami) and resources they offer, visit http://www.lbjls.org .
edited by mcshah on 6/27/2011
edited by mcshah on 6/27/2011
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