Aimee Semple McPherson

Aimee Semple McPherson. The Lotus of Echo Park Lake. , Aimee Semple McPherson (1890-1944) founded the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel and was a well-known figure in Los Angeles. After her founding of the Angelus Temple in 1923, the population of the Echo Park neighborhood greatly increased as thousands of faithful followers came together to be closer to "Sister Aimee" as she preached. , In the 1920s, when Echo Park Lake was still in its infancy, McPherson imported lotuses from China and, it is believed, placed them in Echo Park Lake. From their early beginnings in the Lake, McPherson's lotuses quickly grew to take on cultural and spiritual significance for the neighborhood as well as the greater City of Los Angeles. , The annual Lotus Festival, begun in 1972 as "The Day of the Lotus," celebrates the City's Asian and Pacific Islander communities. Held in July to coincide with the blooming of the lotus flowers, the festival typically includes multi-cultural presentations, food, music, and dragon boat races. , · The flowers of the Asian Lotus (Netumbo nucifera) are sacred to many people around the world, serving as a symbol of rebirth, purity and life. , · Lotus plants help to improve water quality by taking in nitrogen and phosphorus. , · During the Lotus Festival, each dragon boat team has eight members, including a coxwain (the person steering in the back of the boat) and a drummer.