Cultural events in Long Beach—many of which have been canceled, delayed or pushed online due to COVID-19 in the past years—could soon be supported by Long Beach Recovery Act funds.
On Tuesday, March 22, the Long Beach City Council directed city staff to investigate the feasibility of using Long Beach Recovery Act funds to support upcoming cultural events in the city.
“I think it’s only right that we look at opportunities to help some of these cultural events that really define our city,” said Councilmember Al Austin, who authored the item.
Long Beach is home to a wide array of ethnicities, nationalities and cultures, playing into its motto and misnomer as “the international city.”
The city celebrates events like Cambodian New Year, Dia de los Muertos, the Long Beach Filipino Festival, Hispanic Heritage Month and Juneteenth. Tuesday’s council meeting even started with a presentation on Nowruz (Persian New Year).
“We’ve been having cultural events for the last, at least eight years I’ve been here, but we’ve been having them for a long time,” Councilmember Roberto Uranga said. “I think it’s time we support them in other ways.”
Austin’s item points to $7.9 million allocated towards economic inclusion efforts—some of which was earmarked for direct funding for businesses and “economic empowerment zones.”
Some council members pointed out that cultural events also create opportunities for local vendors to sell their wares.
“I think [it’s important to have] the flexibility to make sure we don’t overlook these incredibly important cultural assets, flexibility with funding to be able to support these things that are incredibly important to the whole community,” Richardson said.
The council unanimously passed the item. A report back on the feasibility is expected in 30 days.
“We are in the second day of spring and so summer will be upon us pretty quickly,” Austin said, stressing the urgency of the item.
