City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: STUDY SESSION
Lead Department: Community Services
Meeting Date: March 10, 2025
Report #:2501-3997
TITLE
Review of the Community Services Recreation Division 2025 Special Events Work Plan; CEQA status – not a project.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff Recommends that the City Council Review and Provide Feedback on the 2025 Special Events Work Plan Planned by the Community Services Department Recreation Division
BACKGROUND
The City of Palo Alto offers many events throughout the year for the community to gather, connect with neighbors, and learn. The Community Services Department (CSD) has a long tradition of planning and hosting special events that draw many participants. Long-standing events planned or supported by the Recreation Division of CSD include the May Fete Parade and Festival, Fourth of July Chili Cook Off, Moonlight Run (with the Palo Alto Weekly), and Holiday Tree Lighting. CSD hosts other events throughout the year, including some that were created during the pandemic and have remained due to popularity. These include the Jack-o- Jaunt and Holiday Decorating Contest. CSD also provides support to events organized by others such as the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service event, Third Thursday’s summer fun and games themed event, and Veterans Day. These events would not be possible without support from community partners, volunteers, and City staff.
Council members have expressed an interest in more community-wide events. In Fiscal Year 2024, a full-time Recreation Coordinator position was added to the Community Services Department Operating Budget to reinvigorate existing special events while planning new events to support economic vitality in commercial areas and to foster a more cohesive sense of community. The position was filled in December 2023.
ANALYSIS
The attached special events workplan (Attachment A) includes those events supported by the full-time Recreation Coordinator position for Calendar Year 2025. New events for this year include a community dance party, a heritage event to celebrate the diverse cultures in Palo Alto, a community pancake breakfast, and a pet costume parade. Enhancements to existing events include increasing the number of teams in the Chili Cook Off, and May Fete Parade groups, and cost savings for the Holiday Tree Lighting event.
In addition to the citywide events produced by CSD’s Recreation Division, numerous events are produced through CSD’s focused programs for the Children’s Theatre, Palo Alto Art Center, and Public Art programs. Additional events offered or supported by these program-focused divisions within CSD in Calendar Year 2025 include (an asterisk indicates events the City partners with others or supports):
•Youth and Teen Events and Activities
•Summer Twilight Concert Series
•Children’s Theatre performances
•Magical Bridge Concert Series*
•Cubberley Artists Open Studios
•CODE: Art Festival (biennial)
•Friday Nights at the Art Center
•Great Glass Pumpkin Patch*
•Clay and Glass Festival*
•Art Center Studio Sale
•Family Days at the Art Center
•Super Family Sundays at the Palo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo* •Halloween Costume Event at the Palo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo* •Inclusive Resource Fair*
Other City departments such as Library, Transportation, Utilities, and Public Works also plan program oriented special events throughout the year. In addition to City-produced events, the City supports events produced by others in several ways:
•The City supports numerous events through facility co-sponsorships. This enables groups to use City facilities with no facility rental fees. Eligibility is determined through the City’s Co-Sponsorship policy, and roughly fifteen events are co-sponsored each year. •Through City Council action, a number of events receive direct financial support. This includes the United Nations Association Film Festival and Third Thursdays. The Policy & Services Committee is currently considering recommendations for handling funding requests from non-profit partners as part of the FY 2026 budget process. •CSD currently administers a Know Your Neighbors grant program for neighborhood block parties, with roughly 55 events supported each year. Staff is developing a Community Event grant program for larger events to be rolled out later this year, with grants up to $5,000.
Council members have expressed an interest in seeing more events. Staff has found that a primary limitation on our ability to produce community events is the staffing needed to manage activities on event days. With this in mind, the partnerships reflected in the Community Event grant program described above may present an opportunity to support growth in the number and variety of events available to the community.
Staff recommends that the City Council review the calendar of events planned for 2025 by the Community Services Department’s Recreation Division and provide feedback.
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
A full-time Recreation Coordinator was added to the Community Services Department Operating Budget in Fiscal Year 2024. Costs for special events are budgeted within each department’s operating budget and no additional resources are being requested at this time.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
The new events planned for 2025 aim to meet the City Council’s priority of Public Safety, Wellness & Belonging by promoting opportunities for residents to connect and meet other residents and neighbors, thereby reducing isolation and loneliness and fostering an overall sense of community. A multi-cultural event was added this year to provide opportunities for the many diverse cultures in Palo Alto to celebrate and share their heritage with the entire community. This is important to demonstrate that all cultures are welcomed and acknowledged in the community.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This study session is not a Project under CEQA.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A - 2025 Community Services Department Recreation Special Events Workplan APPROVED BY:
Kristen O'Kane, Community Services Director