Parks commission previews spring and seasonal events; approves minutes

The Park and Recreation Advisory Committee on Jan. 27 approved the minutes from its previous meeting and discussed a slate of community events and programming for 2025, including a father–daughter dance, an April Easter drive-through, the fall festival music lineup and changes to the winter festival vendor format.

Kathy, a parks staff member, described the father–daughter dance: “Father daughter dance is this Saturday from 2 to 4 at La Verne Bridal School in the gymnasium. It's got an Aladdin Arabian Nights theme. We've got the photo booth, snacks, and dancing.” She said the event is free, open to all ages and was advertised digitally through selected schools that serve La Verne students.

The committee also reviewed plans for the annual Easter drive-through. Kathy said the event is scheduled for Saturday, April 12, beginning at 10 a.m.; distribution will continue “while supplies last” and is expected to run roughly 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. The format will again funnel vehicles through the park and staff will invite other city departments to participate.

On fall programming, parks staff raised whether the department should continue contracting higher-cost live music acts for the fall festival or shift to lower-cost alternatives such as a DJ or partnerships with local radio stations. Staff reported that the department’s annual outlay for stage trailer, audio and music has averaged about $15,000. The meeting record shows one named example: a Prince tribute band was cited at a fee of $9,000. Committee members said live acts can fail to move sufficient crowds and noted radio-station partnerships both provide music and offer promotion and giveaways. One committee member summarized the trade-off: larger-name bands require staging and audio rentals and may not increase attendance enough to justify the cost.

Members discussed keeping the parade and other fall-festival elements while reconsidering how the music is presented; several suggested offering separate “music in the park” nights where bands bring their own sound equipment to reduce rental costs. A committee member suggested a radio-station package to secure promotion and broader audience reach.

The committee also reviewed the winter festival. Staff said a craft fair added three years ago has not generated repeat vendor participation because vendors reported weak sales; staff proposed removing that craft-fair element while retaining the skating rink, parade, tree lighting and Santa’s Village. The senior center’s cookies and hot-chocolate offering drew positive public comment and staff said they will reach out to the senior center to reprise that contribution.

Kathy announced new program ideas the department is exploring: quarterly, free public workshops at the multipurpose building (examples proposed include woodworking sessions for children and an auto-care basics workshop for teenage drivers) and indoor movie screenings using a newly purchased drop-down screen for the multipurpose building to avoid weather cancellations. Molly and other staff indicated they will pilot the workshops and seek community and departmental volunteers (the city mechanic agreed to lead an auto-basics session).

Action taken: the committee approved the minutes from the previous meeting. The chair noted the motion and second and said “Motion passes.” The transcript records a motion and a second and a verbal aye vote but does not include a roll-call tally.

The committee changed its meeting cadence to every other month and scheduled the next meeting for March 17, 2025.

The committee adjourned after completing the agenda items.