Powerful musical performances, along with traditional Southeast Asian garments, were some of the many visuals at the first Long Beach Sankranta that encapsulated the many cultures being celebrated during the event.

Thousands of people on Saturday attended the celebration at Long Beach City College, which featured food and garment vendors, as well as activities meant to recognize the many nations that observe Sankranta, including Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and some parts of India.

Long Beach Sankranta, according to Councilmember Suely Saro, is meant to promote peace and harmony within the city’s diverse communities.

Although the event has been the subject of an ongoing debate among elders and community leaders in Cambodia Town, many attendees appeared to be enjoying themselves, with some of them participating in prayers, a book reading and a small art wall.

Jesse Men, 50, and Bong Tankansom, 56, both have spent the majority of their lives in Long Beach.

The two men recalled how when they were younger, there weren’t really any events in Long Beach that honored Southeast Asian culture.

With the inaugural Long Beach Sankranta event, both Men and Tankansom were astonished by the sheer size of the celebration, which took over the LBCC parking lot and other parts of the campus.

“This event is once in a lifetime,” Tankansom said. “A lot of us in a normal life, we don’t see each other. Something like this, it brings us together.”

Men held the event in high regard and said that it helped inspire him to find more ways to celebrate and help his community.

He also said it was especially convenient that the event was so close to where many Southeast Asian community members in Long Beach reside.

“This is good for us,” Men said. “Everyone enjoys seeing the culture and religion.”

‘His life was cut too short’: Family of man killed in hit-and-run seeks justice