Arcadia Residents Unaware of Arboretum Festival Plans

Arcadia residents whose properties adjoin the L.A. State and County Arboretum have not been notified that the Los Angeles Festival plans to hold an all-night performance by a 67-member Javanese dance company in their back yards, even though the city of Arcadia and the arboretum have sought neighbors’ approval in the past for events running later than 10 p.m.

And while the San Gabriel Valley city has yet to formally approve the Sept. 8 event, hundreds of tickets have already been sold.

In interviews with 19 residents of the three dozen homes bordering the 127-acre park, not one was aware that any L.A. Festival events were planned for the arboretum, much less the “Wayang Kulit” shadow puppet play by the Court Performers from the Jogjakarta Palace of Java. The event is scheduled from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.

In all, 15 festival performances--featuring the Javanese court dancers, Cambodian Classical Dance Troupe, Uwanuda Kagura Troupe from Japan and Majikina Honryu Okinawan Dance Company--are scheduled at the park.

“I’m surprised that I haven’t heard anything about (the all-night event)--we’re getting pretty close to it, so it’d be nice if they’d let us know. I’m concerned enough that I’m going to make a call over there to look into this,” said Suzanne Tomkins, a resident on North Old Ranch Road who has shared her back yard with the arboretum for 10 years and has lived her entire life in the affluent Arcadia neighborhood.

Tomkins, like most of the residents interviewed, had mixed feelings about the event: She didn’t want to be kept awake all night, but since it was a one-night-only affair, she might consent if the arboretum assured her that strict noise controls would be maintained.

While final contracts between the festival and the arboretum were scheduled to be signed Friday, tickets for the outdoor events, which were originally scheduled for the downtown Embassy Theater, have been on sale for more than a month. According to a Ticketron agent, only 300 tickets for “Wayang Kulit” are still available for the 800-seat venue.

Leon Arnold, acting director of the arboretum, said city officials have told him that he must get signed permission from all residents bordering on the park before the event is held.

But three neighbors interviewed by The Times said they would not consent and several others were undecided. In addition, at least three homes affected have ailing residents who would would not be likely to approve, the neighbors said.