Organization

Cambodia Town Inc.


Cambodia Town, Inc. is a nonprofit in Long Beach, California, that promotes Khmer culture and business in the Cambodia Town district on Anaheim Street.[1][2] It led the campaign for the city's designation of the Cambodia Town Business and Cultural District in 2007, and it has produced the annual Cambodian New Year parade along Anaheim Street since 2005.[2] The organization describes the district as the first designated Cambodia Town in the United States.[2]

History

The idea of a Cambodia Town began in 2001 with a group that wanted to bring Cambodian pride and heritage into the life of the neighborhood.[3] In 2004 its advocates asked the Long Beach City Council for support, and the council answered that there was no activity on Anaheim Street. The community organized the first Cambodian New Year Parade in April 2005 to bring people to the street and show that activity. Thousands came to watch.[3] The effort was known as the Cambodia Town Initiative Task Force until November 2005, when a town hall meeting chose the name Cambodia Town. Sithea San, one of the original founders, has said the name was picked because everyone could pronounce it.[3] Monorom Neth recalled that the area had been called Phnom Penh, after Cambodia's capital, before it had an official name.[3]

On November 4, 2005, members of the task force and the community formed Cambodia Town, Inc. as a nonprofit with 501(c)(3) status. Its plan was to gather community support and engage the media to influence the City Council.[2][4] The founding members were Evan A. Braude, Sandy Cajas, Meng Kim Chea, Pasin Chanou, Rosana Chanou, Al Day, Chhim Him, Krithny Horn, Sakphan Keam, Harrison Lee, Peter Long, Susan Needham, Richer San, Sithea San, Tony Taing, Edward Tan, Phillip Thong and Danny Vong.[2] Sources differ on the date: the organization has been tax-exempt since December 2006, and other accounts say it was incorporated as its own entity in 2007, after the designation.[5][6][3]

On October 24, 2006, Cambodia Town, Inc. submitted its proposal for a Cambodia Town district to the City Council, with support from Latino and African American groups along the Anaheim corridor. The council voted 6 to 3 to postpone action and sent the proposal to its Housing and Neighborhood Committee.[2] Laura Richardson, then the 7th District council member, supported the effort. That October she proposed limiting Cambodia Town to the 1500 to 1800 blocks of Anaheim Street, from Peterson to Gardenia avenues, while the community wanted it to run from Junipero Avenue to Atlantic Avenue and include the area around the United Cambodian Community and other Asian businesses.[3]

The committee brought the proposal back, and on July 3, 2007, the City Council voted 8 to 1 to designate the Cambodia Town Business and Cultural District. The designation recognized Cambodia Town as a cultural, tourist and commercial destination on Anaheim Street, and it directed the city manager to work with stakeholders on a business improvement district.[2] Cambodia Town, Inc. worked on that campaign with the Midtown Business Improvement District and Council Member Dee Andrews.[7] That year its Ambassador Circle raised $150,000 to name the community room in the Mark Twain Library, and over seven years the organization raised more than $150,000 for the room.[2][3]

From 2008 Cambodia Town, Inc. collected signatures for a Midtown Property-Based Improvement District, and the city established it in 2016.[2][4] In 2009 California State University, Dominguez Hills worked with the organization on an exhibition of Cambodian arts and handicrafts, which became the annual Cambodia Town Cultural Festival, attended by several thousand people.[2] The organization raised the money for 16 street signs marking the district's boundaries in 2011 and for Cambodia Town directional signs on the 710 Freeway in 2012, using its own funds rather than the city's.[2][3] By 2018 it was seeking the City Council's help to build a gateway at the entrance to the district. It was meant to be the first such gateway in the city, and the organization hoped to complete it with the city's planned renovation of Anaheim Street, which was expected to add crosswalks.[3]

On April 23, 2019, at the recommendation of the organization's board, the City of Long Beach proclaimed April as Cambodian Heritage Month.[2] After businesses on Anaheim Street were damaged and looted on May 31, 2020, Cambodia Town, Inc. joined the Midtown BID and United Cambodian Community in a coalition that gave $69,373 in relief funds to 25 businesses.[2] The New Year parade continued as a video in 2020 and 2021 and returned as a live event in 2023, drawing thousands.[2]

From October 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025, a capacity-building award from the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health funded the organization's Healing Through Dance for South East Asian Youth project. It paired Cambodian classical and folk dance with weekly lessons on mental health, to address stigma and trauma passed down across generations.[8] The free program was open to Southeast Asian students ages 14 to 24 and paid a $400 stipend to those who finished. Classes met on Saturday afternoons from January 11, 2025, at 5555 Stearns Street in Long Beach, where students learned Cambodian dance history, the meanings of hand gestures, stage etiquette and Khmer forms of address for their teachers.[8] Of the 32 students who entered, 29 graduated. Students performed at Sankranta at Long Beach City College on April 5, 2025, and at the Cambodia Town Culture Festival there the next day.[8] Mariko Kahn coordinated the project, and Mea Lath, founder of the Modern Apsara Company, led the dance work.[8]

In 2025 Sithea San, the chair and a co-founder, said the parade had been conceived in 2005 to bring resources and attention to the Cambodian community on the Anaheim corridor, to help survivors of the Killing Fields heal and to support local businesses.[9] The 18th annual Cambodia Town Parade and Culture Festival took place on April 4, 2026.[1] In 2026 the organization thanked Mayor Rex Richardson for hosting a welcome at City Hall for Her Royal Highness Norodom Jenna of Cambodia and for sharing with her the plans for the Cambodia Town Grand Entrance.[10] Its 19th annual gala celebrating the district was held at Udom Khmer Restaurant.[10]

Programs

The Rosana Chanou Memorial Scholarship Program supports Southeast Asian American high school graduates from the Long Beach Unified School District and nearby districts with many Southeast Asian students; online applications opened in June 2024.[1] The organization has pressed for safer traffic, community projects and park improvements, including at McArthur Park.[2] With Latino In Actions and the Edmond Group, it went door to door in North Long Beach to hand out notices about sound-wall construction and lane closures for the LA Metro 91 Eastbound Safety Project.[10] Classical dance lessons for young women and classes in reading and writing Khmer have also been part of Cambodia Town's activities.[3]

Community

Cambodia Town, Inc. works for the social and economic well-being of low- and moderate-income residents through health access, neighborhood renewal, support for local businesses and youth education, drawing on Cambodian culture, customs and traditions.[1][11] It names collaboration, community, cultural diversity, unity, resilience and inclusiveness as its values.[1]

The district runs about one mile along Anaheim Street from Junipero to Atlantic avenues and spans two blocks between 11th and 14th streets.[3] Its businesses include pharmacies, restaurants, jewelry stores and clothing stores, and in 2018 Monorom Neth estimated that about 90 percent were family shops that had been there since the 1980s and 1990s. The first Cambodian-owned restaurant and market stood side by side at Anaheim Street and Raymond Avenue; both later changed names and owners. Businesses run by people of other backgrounds, including restaurants of other cuisines, are part of the district too.[3] The New Year parade draws visitors from other states and countries, including France, Australia and the Netherlands. On parade day, restaurants often sell out of food, and waits at the large ones can reach two hours.[3]

Finances

Cambodia Town, Inc. (EIN 20-3769993) is classified as a cultural and ethnic awareness organization. Its revenue grew from $29,088 in 2016 to $566,865 in 2024. In 2025 it reported revenue of $309,708, almost all of it contributions, expenses of $435,061 and net assets of $252,940.[5][11]

Leadership (2025)

Officers and directors listed in the federal filing for 2025.[5]

  • Sithea San, chair
  • Rong Be, first vice chair
  • Pasin Chanou, second vice chair
  • Mariko Kahn, treasurer
  • Sue Needham, secretary
  • Evan A. Braude, board member
  • Kerry Chhay, board member
  • Kim Suor Ngann, board member
  • Richer San, board member
  • Sean Tu, board member

Earlier officers include Monorom Neth, the organization's first vice chairman, and Phillip T. Thong, honorary chairman in 2024.[3][5]

Press

  • Long Beach Local News, "Cambodia Town: Bringing Life and Culture to Anaheim Street," August 6, 2018[3]
  • The Guardian, "'Radical joy': Cambodians in California celebrate Khmer culture 50 years after Killing Fields," April 30, 2025[9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Cambodia Town, Inc., home page
  2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 Cambodia Town, Inc., History
  3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 Long Beach Local News, Cambodia Town: Bringing Life and Culture to Anaheim Street (August 6, 2018)
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Atlas of Home, The Cambodians in Long Beach, California
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, Cambodia Town Inc
  6. ↑ UC Davis, California Model Curricula, Exploring an Ethnic Enclave: Cambodia Town, USA
  7. ↑ Cambodia Town Thrives, History
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, Cambodia Town's Final Summary Report: Healing Through Dance for South East Asian Youth (2025)
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 The Guardian, 'Radical joy': Cambodians in California celebrate Khmer culture 50 years after Killing Fields (April 30, 2025)
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Cambodia Town, Inc., Activities
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 YouCanGiveBack, Cambodia Town Inc charity report

Sources

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This page was last edited on 26 September 2026, at 23:18.