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Park board approves dozens of event and field permits, sets 2026 Summer Evenings schedule and a citywide tree-planting plan
Summary
At its April 1 meeting, the Fall River City Park Board approved multiple event and athletic-field permits—including a youth soccer event expected to draw 800–1,000 people—adopted the city's 2026 Summer Evenings schedule and authorized a plan to plant 300–400 trees across the city.
The Fall River City Park Board of Commissioners on April 1 approved a slate of permits for community events and youth sports, adopted the 2026 "Summer Evenings" schedule and approved a large citywide tree-planting plan.
Adah Madaras, representing Massachusetts Youth Soccer, requested an all-day youth soccer event on June 17, 2026, with setup at 10 a.m., the main program noon–6 p.m. and teardown by 7 p.m.; organizers estimated between 800 and 1,000 people would visit the fields during the day. Park staff and commissioners approved the permit and asked organizers to coordinate logistics and parking with park staff.
The board also approved multiple community events and league permits: Easter egg hunts at Travasos Park and Kennedy Park, a Love Your Block community celebration and Quicoan Rail Trail ribbon-cutting on April 12, the Flint Art Festival on June 14 (rain date June 28), a resource fair by Highland Pediatrics on June 10 (rain date June 17), and recurring youth-league permits for baseball and softball seasons. John Ferrer’s request for use of the Dumont softball complex and Clifford Maderas’s Federal Little League season permits were approved, as were a Back-to-School block party presented by Commissioner Amber Burns’ Burns organization (Commissioner Burns recorded an abstention on that vote).
The board adopted the City’s Summer Evenings schedule for July and August, with events set July 8 through August 26 at parks including Ruggles, Father Kelly, Griffin, Pleski, Lafayette, North Park, Kennedy and Maplewood.
On urban forestry, Tree Warden Chris Martin and Park Director Darren Maderas requested and the board approved a plan to plant about 300–400 trees across parks, sidewalks and island plantings in the coming months. Commissioners asked for a finalized planting map; staff said locations are still being identified and noted the project aligns with recent CPC recommendations and pending city-council approvals.
Most motions on the agenda were approved by voice vote. One abstention was recorded when Commissioner Amber Burns recused herself from the vote on the block-party permit tied to her organization.
Board members asked organizers to coordinate logistics and to work with Darren (park staff) to confirm field availability, permits and equipment needs. The board also directed staff to continue issuing permits and to remind permit holders to keep their issued permit on their person to avoid disputes over field use.
The meeting concluded with routine operational updates, a discussion deferred to the next agenda about advertising and storage boxes at pickleball courts, and the meeting’s adjournment.
