Lotus Festival in Echo Park

Xico Station is excited to participate for the second year in a row in the annual Lotus Festival at Echo Park Lake on Saturday, July 15 (12-8pm) & Sunday, July 16 (12-7pm).

Be sure to stop by and get a permanent jewelry bracelet or anklet. We also have beautiful handmade necklaces, earrings and hairpins! Can’t wait to see you there!

From the announcement:

City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks presents:

42nd Lotus Festival in Echo Park

Celebrating The People of Indonesia

Saturday, July 15 (12-8pm) & Sunday, July 16 (12-7pm)

Echo Park Lake: 752 Echo Park Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90026

Free Admission

42nd Lotus Festival & History

• Originated in 1972 by Department of Recreation & Parks and members of the Council of Oriental Organizations (COO).

• In 2009, the Los Angeles Lotus Festival Inc became actively involved in the planning and managing of the Lotus Festival in partnership with the City of Los Angeles, Department of Recreation and Parks, with the support of the community and sponsors.

• The lotus flowers symbolizes rebirth, purity and life in Asian culture. The festival is held in July when the Lotus flowers are in bloom.

• Echo Park houses the largest lotus bed in the U.S. and is the central location for local Asian and Pacific Islander communities.

• “The Day of the Lotus” was the original name. The purpose wast to promote awareness and understanding of the contributions made by Asian and Pacific Islander communities to the local and surrounding communities.

• The festival has grown and expanded over the course of the past 50 years. The festival expanded to become a two-day event. The dragon boat races began when the festival had a Chinese opening day ceremony.

History of Dragon Boat Races

Dragon Boat races, a tradition in Hong Kong, China, were first held at the 3rd Annual Lotus Festival in Echo Park. Helen Young, who chaired the first Lotus Festival, was the passion behind this idea and helped bring this vision to life. The first Dragon Boat Race committee was formed through connections with crew coaches from USC and UCLA who helped develop rules and regulations for the boat races. The first Dragon Boat Race had a total of 10 co-ed teams. The boat races on Echo Park Lake have become a tradition at the festival for the past 47 years.

Additional History

• Additions to the Lotus Festival include: the island flower show in 1989 and holding an annual press conference to give members of the media the opportunity to view the location and glean samples of the various cultural representations. As the Lotus Festival continued to gain momentum and support, the Lotus Advisory Board was developed (1990) and the festival added a pavilion to focus on the year’s highlighted culture (1993).

• Estimated Attendance: Over 125,000.

• Asian and Pacific Islander representations include: Japanese, Filipino, Asian Indian, Chinese, Samoan, Tongan, Hawaiian, Thai, Korean, Malaysian, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Indonesian, Tibetan, Laotian, Bangladeshi, Mongolian and Hmong.

Activities at the Lotus Festival

• Food Court
• Boutique Area
• Outdoor Adventure
• Origami Workshops
• Dragon Boat Races
• Entertainment
• Children’s Area including entertainment, games crafts, and face painting
• Community Information
• Beer and Wine Garden

For more information, please visit the Lotus Festival website and Lights of Dreams Festival.