briefly in the news

Bryce Alderton

Death threats made against an Iranian couple out for a walk in their

Huntington Beach neighborhood two weeks ago is just one example of the

type of crime Fred Provencher is trying to eliminate.

“These are things a community should not be proud of,” Provencher

said. “We don’t want to be known as a horrible place to walk the

streets.”

Now, more than ever, as the chairman of the Huntington Beach Humans

Relations Task Force, Provencher is asking everyone to celebrate

diversity by coming out to the Cultural Diversity Festival. It will be

held in Huntington Central Park from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday Oct. 21.

“We’re all here, we are diverse and it’s one city, not 23

neighborhoods,” he said. “We’re promoting tolerance and understanding

between cultures, but we’re all still Americans, and that is the most

important thing.”

The day will kick off with opening ceremonies at 10 a.m. followed by

the first musical performance on the bandstand shorty after, with the

Ainahau o Kaleponi Hawaiian Club. Performances by the Good Samaritan

Gospel Choir, the Song makers Folk Group and the Ben’ingoma African

Drummers will follow throughout the day.

The task force will have a booth set up at the farmer’s market in

Downtown Huntington Beach during October where volunteers will sell

T-shirts and promote the event.

The task force is a nonprofit, city council appointed group that was

formed in 1997. It is made up of 25 adult members, which include eight

high school student representatives from the Huntington Beach School

District.

Central Park is at Goldenwest Street and Talbert Avenue.