Performers help each other get dressed for their performances at Cambodian New Year in Long Beach. The woman is being helped with her kbun. An 8’ length of silk is wrapped around her waist toward the front. The length of cloth will be twisted and pulled to her back between her legs. It is held in place with a belt.
Sweety Chap (2nd from right) and student volunteers were among many who directed traffic to the October 24, 2006, meeting of the Long Beach City Council. The community fully expected the council to approve the designation of “Cambodia Town” that night but was bitterly disappointed when the request was referred to the Housing and Neighborhood Sub-committee for further review.
The Kem family arriving at the San Francisco airport. Mrs. Kem (4th from right) holds an ICM (International Cooperating Ministries) bag with all of the family’s travel documents. All the family’s possessions are in the white bag held by her son. After their arrival in San Francisco, the family moved to the Long Beach area (circa 1980).
A Buddhist shrine (sala) in the Angkor area of Cambodia. The majority of Cambodians are Theravada Buddhist. The establishment of Buddhist temples was among the first things Cambodians did after arriving in the United States in 1975 and was one of the reasons so many Cambodians came to Long Beach in the early days (Courtesy of Bonnie Lowenthal).
