Pierce Today

TACOMA, Wash. – The votes are in! Through a participatory budgeting process led by the Public Health Centers for Excellence at Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department in

partnership with Tacoma Creates,  5,166 community members of all ages across the Eastside and South  Tacoma have selected the cultural projects they most want to see in  their

communities – a Multicultural Festival Series in the Eastside and a  South Tacoma Heritage Festival. The Eastside and South Tacoma are among Tacoma-Pierce County Health

Department’s Communities of Focus. Each  of the two selected projects will be supported with $100,000 in Tacoma  Creates funding and implemented in late 2022 or in 2023.

“I am proud of the great work done by Eastside and South Tacoma  community members in selecting these projects,” said Deputy Mayor  Catherine Ushka. “The participatory

budgeting process supports strong  community engagement, and I’m thrilled that the Eastside and South  Tacoma have chosen to support local cultural celebrations. That is  exactly

what Tacoma Creates is all about.”

“I am excited to see the Heritage Festival project support the diversity  of South Tacoma, and celebrate the cultural diversity and vibrancy of  our area,” said District 5 Council Member

Joe Bushnell. “I applaud the  work of the many non-profit institutions that have put together these  amazing proposals and look forward to more cultural programming  supported by

Tacoma Creates in the future.”

As part of this participatory budgeting process, which helps government  better serve the community by leveraging community wisdom to help  implement solutions to community

problems, local advisory boards had  developed three initial project proposals in the Eastside and three  initial project proposals in South Tacoma. These initial project  proposals

emerged from thousands of ideas submitted by community members  who then had a month and a half to vote. 

Eastside

In the Eastside, the Multicultural Festival Series netted 65  percent of the vote and will include three cultural celebrations: Lunar  New Year, produced by Golden Bamboo; Juneteenth,

produced by WayOut  Kids; and Día de los Muertos, produced by Calavera Collective. Each  family-friendly festival will be one to two days long, and offer a wide  array of

performances, storytelling, food, art, and activities. 

The remaining 35 percent of votes in the Eastside were split  between two other project proposals: Light Up the City, a series of  pop-up light shows and interactive workshops, which

would have been  developed and implemented by Permaculture Lifestyle Institute, and the  Tacoma Eastside Freewall, a dedicated location for mural painters with  workshops for

youth and young adults, which would have been developed  and implemented by Fab-5.

South Tacoma

In South Tacoma, the South Tacoma Heritage Festival netted 56 percent of  the vote, and will celebrate community diversity while promoting  cross-cultural solidarity with a two-day

event featuring dance, music,  cultural presentations, kids’ activities, and more. There will also be  science and engineering themed learning opportunities that focus on  concepts and

techniques as well as career possibilities. The Asia  Pacific Cultural Center will develop and implement this project, in  coordination and engagement with local grassroots

organizations. 

The remaining 44 percent of votes in South Tacoma were split  between two other project proposals: Rock the Block, a series of  friendly competitions to showcase local talent,

would have been  developed and implemented by Real Art Tacoma, and a Cross-Cultural  Community Mural, a mural-creation process focused on the diverse  cultures of South

Tacoma, which would have been developed and  implemented by Fab-5. 

“The contributions of our vibrant and diverse community of creatives  have been foundational to the way Tacoma has evolved and will continue  to evolve into the future, and I am

proud that our broader community has  supported Tacoma Creates to fund cultural celebrations like these,”  said Mayor Victoria Woodards. 

Tacoma Creates

Tacoma Creates is a voter-approved initiative to increase access to arts, culture,  heritage, and science experiences throughout Tacoma by reducing barriers  to access and

expanding offerings, particularly for underserved youth.  Tacoma Creates is embedded within the City of Tacoma’s Office of Arts  & Cultural Vitality. 

Original source can be found here.