MasterPlanning!: Echo Park’s “Don’t Call It Lotus” Festival
by Tony Chavira
This past Saturday the Los Angeles community of Echo Park, which the American Planning Association named one of the ten best places to live in the United States, was not allowed to have its Lotus Festival. It doesn’t mean that the community still didn’t come together for this annual event, but the subdued Neighborhood Festival was not allowed to use the term Lotus Festival without incurring the wrath of the city of Los Angeles, who seem to own the rights to the words Lotus and Festival when they’re next to each other. In fact, a local photographer was actually sued by the city for selling shirts that said Lotus Festival on them. The city said that he was profiting from the use of something they had the exclusive rights to and they shut him down without a tear shed.
One could easily blame the city for not giving money to the event, since we’re sure there are hundreds of other things they could spend the $444,000 on that would traditionally go to the Lotus Festival. Like a Lakers victory parade or celebrity funeral (each of which was more than twice the amount the Lotus Festival would have cost). The city Park and Recreation department were all over it, cancelling the use of the name so that they could ultimately exclude themselves from the paying-for-it part. How could the city have justified a cancellation of funds for something so traditional, you ask? That is the saddest story of all: the signature lotus patch at the end of the park died. Therefore no community celebrations allowed. Sorry, guys.
One could easily blame the nonprofit that has been putting together the event since 1972, Lotus Inc. As they are technically in charge of the maintenance of this event, they should’ve been on top of everything in case something like this were to arise. Lotus Inc. probably shouldn’t have depended so heavily on funds from the city, probably should have developed a war chest in case of emergency, and probably should have used it to pull in heavy duty environmental engineers to save the now-dead lotuses. Lotus Inc., to their credit, was able to bring in more than $110,000 for this year’s event, but to what purpose when the event isn’t allowed to be called the Lotus Festival and the contribution of the Asian-American community that developed it is downplayed for legal purposes? The community of Echo Park had developed an incorporative event that everyone of any culture could enjoy. And then it ended.
Though one could easily blame the actual community of Echo Park. Where were the dragon boat races? Where were the vendors spilling into the streets? Where was the electric sense of do-it-yourself-ness that made the Lotus Festival so enjoyable and something worth anticipating each summer? “Echo Park is one of the lights more bright in a city full of stars,” playboy mayor Antonio Villaraigosa once said believably. Where were the stars? Getting a permit and running your own event, playing your own games, and having your own party without city funding is just as viable as begging the city for coin. So what if the city’s cash-strapped? The event didn’t start with city funding. Why would it be so crippled now? You’re supposed to be one of the top ten best places to live in America, Echo Park! Act like it!
Ultimately, the underwhelming events and mood of this year’s Not-Lotus Festival probably stemmed from a combination of all of these things. But, more rhetorically, I think there is a significant issue that we’ve all somehow ignored: who really owns the city? I mean, if the city of Los Angeles has the right to sue people for rights to its property, cut off payments for celebrations, or even pay for celebrity funerals, who are the owners and stakeholders that stand to benefit? The city of Los Angeles, in fact, also has the rights to the phrase city of Los Angeles, but it doesn’t mean that they’re going to sue everyone who slaps it up on a t-shirt. “It’s illegal to sell any lotus items depicting the festival and Echo Park,” said Jane Kolb, a spokeswoman for the city’s Department of Recreation and Parks. But why? There is no division between us and the city. We are the city of Los Angeles. We are the festivals, organizations, committees, laws, proposals, developments and initiatives. Not Villaraigosa, not the city council, not the county supervisors. Us. You and me.
So let’s act accordingly.
www.racaia.com | tony@fourstory.org
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