lotus blossoms

Lotus Festival, dragon boats, turtles in Echo Park

by carollightwoodJuly 19, 2018March 31, 2024

Lotus blossom echo park lake — According to a story that has been around for decades the evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson planted the lotus in Echo Park lake in the early 20th Century. The church she founded, the Angelus Temple, is across the street from the park. The lotus had died out a few years ago, so the L.A. Parks Dept. replanted them.

dragon racers lotus festival 2018

Changes at the Lotus Festival this year: many more vendor booths in Echo Park and fewer dragon boats racing.

And it appears that the Los Angeles Parks Dept. has replanted lotus in other parts of the lake than the northern edge.

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Here is some of what I saw:

Chinese lanterns lotus festival echo park los angeles — Colorful lanterns represented China, the sponsoring country of the Echo Park Lotus Festival for 2018.

Dragon race sign lotus festival 2018 — The sign announcing the location for the dragon boat races.

dragon racers lotus festival 2018 — There were only these two dragon boats racing on Saturday. Perhaps others will race on Sunday. Dragon boat races have become a popular event at festivals around Southern California.

Swan paddle boats echo park lake los angeles — I noticed that now all the pedal boats are swan boats. They are available to rent year round.

Chinese dancers lotus festival 2018 — Each year a different Asian country becomes the sponsor of this event. This year the sponsoring country was China and these are some of the performers.

red umbrella lotus festival echo park los angeles — The clothing and umbrella of these two women echoed the colors of the flowers on this plant in the lake.

pandas by childrens stage lotus festival — Panda characters with woman at the lotus festival in front of the children’s stage.

umbrella booth lotus festival — The City of L.A. provided tents for vendors. I liked this display of umbrellas, although the booth was primarily selling women’s clothing.

turtles in echo park lake — There were far more turtles visible than ducks. I wonder if there is some sort of turtle control for the lake? Or duck control?

Dogtown food truck lotus festival — I love the colors on this hot dog/sausage food truck parked nearby the Echo Park cafe. “Dogtown”, of course, is the name given to a skateboard culture in So. Cal. back in the 1970s and 1980s.

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