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CC - CONSENT ITEM: Approval to Schedule Fiesta La Ballona on August 22 - 24, 2025 (Weekend Before Labor Day Weekend).
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Meeting Date: January 27, 2025
Contact Person/Dept: Francisca Castillo/Parks Recreation and Community Services
Phone Number: (310) 253-6645
Fiscal Impact: Yes [] No [X] General Fund: Yes [] No [X]
Attachments: Yes [] No [X]
Public Notification: (Email) Meetings and Agendas - City Council (01/22/2025)
Department Approval: Ted Stevens, PRCS Director (01/06/2025)
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RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the City Council approve scheduling Fiesta La Ballona on August 22 -24, 2025 (weekend before Labor Day weekend).
BACKGROUND/ DISCUSSION
Fiesta La Ballona (Event) is an annual three-day carnival that occurs at Veterans Memorial Park. The Event offers carnival rides and games, live performances, a beer and wine garden, food trucks, a food court, and various booths spotlighting artisan wares and local non-profit organizations.
The Event, traditionally, has been held in August on the weekend before Labor Day weekend. Typically, this coincides with the last full weekend in August. There have a been a few exceptions to this schedule throughout the Event's history. The most recent exception occurred in 2021 when the event was scheduled for October 29-October 31.
At the City Council meeting on March 14, 2022, the Fiesta La Ballona Committee made a recommendation for the Event to be permanently moved to the weekend prior to Halloween each year. However, City Council voted unanimously to keep the date of Fiesta La Ballona as the last weekend in August.
For 2025, Labor Day falls on September 1, 2025. This combines the last weekend in August and Labor Day weekend as the same weekend. Staff is requesting to move the Event from Labor Day weekend to August 22-24, 2025, in order to not conflict with residents' Labor Day weekend plans.
FISCAL ...
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