Cambodian culture took over the streets of Long Beach on Sunday in the long-awaited in-person return of the city’s Cambodia Town Parade and Culture Festival.

The parade kicked off at around 10 a.m., starting from Cherry Avenue and ending at Warren Street by MacArthur Park in Central Long Beach. More than 1,000 attendees immersed themselves in Cambodia’s rich culture through live music, dance, costumes, shadow puppets, textiles, dressmaking and art exhibits.

The parade and festival marked both Cambodian Heritage Month in Long Beach and the Cambodian New Year 2566, Year of the Tiger.

This year’s theme, “Khmer Angkorian Legacy & Unity,“ paid homage to the ancient Angkorian civilization and its accomplishments, including the Cambodian religious monument Angkor Wat, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that was constructed by the Khmer populace under God-King, Jayavarman II, according to Sokthea Phay, one of many organizers for the event.

The 14th annual parade celebrated the largest concentration of Cambodians outside of the country itself. Thousands of Cambodians settled in Long Beach in the 1970s following the genocide perpetrated by the Khmer Rouge regime. In spite of that adversity, Cambodian culture continues to thrive.