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Plus, this event will be lousy with Long Beach Post personnel. The entire staff will actually be in the parade, though we\u2019re not sure if we\u2019ll be riding, marching, strolling or doing that 2nd Street thing where you just keep moving without making eye contact with anyone. Also, our own Tim Grobaty will, once again, be providing live commentary about the parade to the assembled. Some of Tim\u2019s gems from parades past: \u201cHey, look at that!\u201d and \u201cWell, will you look at that!\u201d as well as \u201cWhy aren\u2019t my work colleagues making eye contact with me?\u201d<\/p>\n
The parade begins on Livingston Drive and runs along Second Street from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Belmont Shore side streets will be closed at 3 p.m. while Second Street will be closed to traffic at 4:30 p.m. Livingston from Termino Avenue to Second Street will be closed off at 2 p.m. For more info, visit the event page here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n Another great thing<\/strong>:<\/p>\n The local Hmong community will celebrate its annual New Year festival today and Sunday at El Dorado Park, showcasing cultural dances, food and activities paying reverence to ancestors and giving thanks to the year’s prosperity.<\/p>\n \u201cFor anyone who is curious about the Hmong, our festival is the place to see something unique,\u201d said festival director Casie Yang of the Hmong Association of Long Beach.<\/p>\n The festivities will begin with an opening ceremony at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 7 wherein an honored elder cuts a ribbon that symbolizes opening the gate into the new year.<\/p>\n This year, that honoree is Dixie Swift, the co-founder of Homeland Cultural Center in 1992 and the reason why the Hmong community can continue to teach its culture to the next generation. Located in MacArthur Park in Central Long Beach, Swift\u2019s efforts have allowed various cultural programs to be offered for free at the center, including a Hmong program called \u201cQeej Not Gangs.\u201d<\/p>\n The festival\u2019s opening performance will be conducted by the \u201cQeej Not Gangs\u201d students who will showcase what they\u2019ve learned all year. It will be followed by local, regional and national Hmong master artists and youth, organizers said.<\/p>\n Guests can also try their hand at ball toss, a traditional courting game where youth would meet each other while attending festivals in each other\u2019s towns, according to Qeej Not Gangs Director Gorlia Xiong. (Stephanie Rivera)<\/em><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/hi-lo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/0407-Culture10-970x663.jpg\")