Los Angeles St. David's Day Festival facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Los Angeles St. David’s Day Festival |
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Druid Ceremony at the 2013 Los Angeles St. David's Day Festival, with founder Lorin Morgan-Richards holding the Mari Lwyd, while Peter Anthony Freeman speaks.
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| Dates | First weekend in March |
| Location(s) | Los Angeles, California |
| Years active | 2011-2017 |
The Los Angeles St. David’s Day Festival was a fun annual event in Los Angeles, California. It was a celebration of Welsh arts and culture. The festival usually happened on the first weekend of March. Many people with Welsh heritage from all over the United States came to enjoy it.
At the festival, you could find lots of exciting things to do! There was Welsh and other Celtic music, and you could learn about your genealogy (family history). There was also tasty food and drinks, Welsh language classes, and special cultural displays. You could meet Welsh authors, see cool crafts, and kids had their own special activities too.
The festival was started by Lorin Morgan-Richards. It was put on by the Welsh League of Southern California. It became one of the biggest Welsh festivals in America! Famous performers like Siobhan Owen, Meinir Gwilym, and Poxy Boggards played there.
Festival History and Beginnings
The first big Welsh festival in Los Angeles since 1925 was called the West Coast Eisteddfod. It took place from September 23 to 25, 2011. Over 2,000 people came to this exciting event!
In December 2012, the Los Angeles Welsh Presbyterian Church closed its doors. This church was a very important place for the Welsh community for over 100 years. Because the West Coast Eisteddfod was so successful and the church closed, Lorin Morgan-Richards decided to rebuild the festival. He wanted to make sure the Welsh community still had a special place to celebrate their culture.
Special Moments and Growth
In 2013, something very special happened at the same time as the Los Angeles St. David’s Day Festival. The famous actor Richard Burton received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame after he had passed away. Many people, including actors Michael Sheen and Ioan Gruffudd, and Richard Burton’s family, were there to celebrate. The 2013 festival, which featured singer Siobhan Owen, was even filmed for a movie called Do Ye the Little Things in Life: St. David's Day Festival-National Day of Wales 2013.
After the 2014 festival, Lorin Morgan-Richards asked people in the community to form a group called the Welsh League of Southern California. This group would help the festival grow even more. Lorin stepped back, and Peter Anthony Freeman was chosen as the President. He talked about how important the festival was: "Celebrating Saint David’s Day is more than just remembering an old monk. It's a celebration of where we come from. America is great because it lets us share our culture, making the whole country even better."
In 2015 and 2016, the St. David's Day Festival was held at the Mayflower Club in North Hollywood. The Welsh League of Southern California also held other events, like a singing festival called a Gymanfa Ganu at the Los Angeles Welsh Presbyterian Church.
The Welsh League of Southern California eventually ended in the fall of 2016, when Peter Anthony Freeman moved to Wales.
