TITLE
Recommendation to receive and file the update on the 2007 Long Beach Sea Festival. (Citywide)
DISCUSSION
The International Sea Festival of Long Beach (Sea Festival), as it was originally known, has been a part of Long Beach for over 50 years. It originally was developed to be a program that utilized the city's great assets, its beaches and water areas, and helped to build a sense of pride in the community.
Over the past decade, organizational and financial support for the Sea Festival had waned. The majority of the scheduled events that were once defined as part of the Sea Festival were individually produced events and programs, with the exception of a few that were still sponsored by the Parks, Recreation and Marine Department.
With a desire to reenergize the program, to promote family and community events, and to expand activities that can introduce our beaches to all of our residents, the City Council, at their meeting on May 3,2005, approved a five-year agreement with the Sea Festival Association of Long Beach (Attachment #1). The goals of this public-private partnership included:
1) Rejuvenation of the International Sea Festival program;
2) Development of activities that are geared toward families and the community, plus expansion of programs that can introduce all Long Beach residents to our beaches;
3) Creation of a destination site for people looking to enjoy the unique assets of our community; and
4) Reinvestment of proceeds from the Sea Festival Association into Long Beach based programming and community needs.
In a June 28, 2006 memorandum, the City Council was provided an update of the FY 2006 Long Beach Sea Festival (Attachment #2).
Event Overview
In 2006, the Long Beach Sea Festival sanctioned 47 events on the beaches and waterways between June 25 and Labor Day. This was an increase from the 30 events held in 2005, and over 190,000 people participated in or attended Sea Festival's events.
Based on information from event producers, it...
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