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<\/a><\/p>\nSports<\/p>\n
Artificial turf replacement is almost completed at Lions Field,\u00a0which will allow\u00a0both soccer and football games.\u00a0 A sports field user\u2019s meeting was held in December to\u00a0facilitate\u00a0field use among\u00a0teams.\u00a0 In 2025, the tennis center was used\u00a0over 10,000 times, with over 900 participants and over 4,000 private lessons offered, while the\u00a0sports\u00a0fields were reserved over\u00a06,000 times.<\/p>\n
\u00a0Special Events<\/p>\n
In 2025, Parks and Rec offered 26 Farmer\u2019s Markets, 5 movies in the parks, 5 concerts in the park, and 4 community yard sales. Several popular community events were also offered in Fall 2025, including a downtown Oktoboofest with a kids\u2019 parade and trick-or-treat at local businesses;\u00a0a\u00a0revived Veteran\u2019s Day Parade and Ceremony\u00a0at Hillcrest Park\u00a0featuring\u00a0local schools and sports teams; and\u00a0a Tree Lighting Ceremony\u00a0at City Hall, showcasing local performing groups and delighting families with visits from Santa and the Grinch.\u00a0 A Holiday Home Decorating\u00a0Contest was held for the first time, honoring the winning Sparkle Ball neighborhood and home. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0Recreation Programs<\/p>\n
A Family Sweetheart Dance will be held\u00a0in\u00a0February\u00a0for family members who want to enjoy\u00a0an evening\u00a0dancing\u00a0at the\u00a0community center. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Other recreation opportunities\u00a0for youth include Adventure Play Day in January, and ice skating at the Rinks in Anaheim, as well as\u00a0beginning drum class\u00a0and\u00a0craft\u00a0time for preschoolers.<\/p>\n There will be a spring break Art Camp at the Hunt Library\u00a0in March, as well as\u00a0the yearly\u00a0Camp Hillcrest at Hillcrest Park.\u00a0 <\/p>\n In 2025,\u00a0500 classes were held, and events such as a Father-Daughter Dance with 331 families, a Mommy and Me Tea Party with 40 participants, and a\u00a0Peanuts\u00a0Spooktacular with 200 participants were well attended.\u00a0 Spring and Summer camps served over 1,000 participants\u00a0as well. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0Sports and Fitness Programs<\/p>\n Yoga classes, table tennis, basketball and pickleball are all\u00a0currently\u00a0available, as well as soccer, ice skating\u00a0and dance\u00a0programs.<\/p>\n \u00a02026\u00a0Proposed\u00a0Event\u00a0Schedule<\/p>\n Programming in 2026 would again include 4 community yard sales.\u00a0An\u00a0Eggstravaganza\u00a0Easter egg hunt will be offered at Hunt Library\u00a0in March. \u00a0A new Fullerton Coffee Fest will\u00a0be held\u00a0in\u00a0April, also at the Hunt, featuring\u00a0samples from\u00a0a wide variety of local coffee vendors. \u00a0The Thursday Night Farmer\u2019s Markets\u00a0will\u00a0resume on April 2 and conclude on September 3 at the Fullerton Plaza.\u00a0 Staff explained\u00a0that\u00a0market\u00a0attendance typically drops\u00a050%\u00a0after school starts, so it makes sense to end around Labor Day.<\/p>\n \u00a0A\u00a0first-ever\u00a0Fullerton Fit 5K and Health and Wellness Fair is scheduled\u00a0in June\u00a0at\u00a0the Fullerton Sports Complex.\u00a0A special 3-day festival for the 4th\u00a0of July weekend is proposed by the staff to celebrate the 250th\u00a0anniversary of the United States.\u00a0Extra funding for the event is available\u00a0because of\u00a0the cancellation\u00a0of First Night\u00a0in 2025\u00a0due to rain. \u00a0Live entertainment, rides, a car show,\u00a0and\u00a0food trucks\u00a0would\u00a0kick off on Friday night,\u00a0and include\u00a0a\u00a0fireworks\u00a0show\u00a0on\u00a0Saturday, July 4th\u00a0, as well as\u00a0a closing drone show on Sunday.\u00a0 In October, a\u00a0special\u00a0Friday\u00a0night\u00a0Spooky Street would combine with the Police Department\u2019s October Trunk or Treat, including a one-night Farmers Market night next to City Hall and a costume parade.<\/p>\n 2026 would again\u00a0include\u00a0a Veteran\u2019s Day Parade and Ceremony on the great lawn at Hillcrest Park, a Tree Lighting Ceremony at the beginning of December at the City Hall and end with the normally scheduled First Night Celebration in the downtown Plaza with a closed Harbor Blvd.<\/p>\n \u00a0Commissioner Comments<\/p>\n Maldonado expressed support for the proposed\u00a0Coffeefest, noting that there are\u00a0many\u00a0unique\u00a0coffee vendors\u00a0around\u00a0town, and\u00a0Freeman\u00a0suggested\u00a0including\u00a0non-coffee options for kids. \u00a0<\/p>\n Talavera\u00a0commended staff on yard sales and\u00a0urged that\u00a0they be organized in other parts of the city as well in the future, just as Friday night concerts had previously been held\u00a0in more than one location.\u00a0 He\u00a0noted that there would be interest in outdoor viewings of the FIFA World Cup\u00a0during Fourth of July\u00a0celebrations.\u00a0 Staff stated\u00a0that,\u00a0typically, the FIFA\u00a0World Cup\u00a0requires\u00a0licenses\u00a0for\u00a0viewing opportunities, which\u00a0cost\u00a0thousands of dollars, but that they would investigate the possibility.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0Independence Park Updates<\/p>\n The\u00a010-acre\u00a0park\u00a0currently offers an aquatic facility, skate park, handball courts, outdoor exercise equipment and open space. \u00a0The gym is currently\u00a0closed,\u00a0and the playground\u00a0has been removed due\u00a0to safety\u00a0concerns. \u00a0The preliminary park re-design included a street element for the skate park, large and small dog area, shade structures, picnic pavilion and age-specific\u00a0playgrounds; however,\u00a0funding is not currently available for all these elements. \u00a0Staff\u00a0members\u00a0propose moving forward with\u00a0phased\u00a0changes using\u00a0existing funding at a reduced\u00a0scale.<\/p>\n \u00a0Independence Park\u00a0was originally allocated $2M\u00a0Park\u00a0Dwelling funds pending completion of the HUB apartment\u00a0complex in 2023. \u00a0In 2024, it was awarded $1M for the gym rehab project\u00a0and a $100K\u00a0grant\u00a0from the County, which was used to fund Throne Restrooms. \u00a0In 2025,\u00a0the\u00a0HUB\u00a0apartment\u00a0project was completed, and $2M\u00a0finally\u00a0received, so construction design plans for the gym are being completed.\u00a0New basketball courts and floors,\u00a0\u00a0renovated restrooms, front desk area, and\u00a0multi-purpose rooms are planned.<\/p>\n In addition to the gym,\u00a0previously\u00a0proposed\u00a0park elements included pickleball courts and\u00a0an ADA playground.\u00a0\u00a0Originally,\u00a0these\u00a0elements would have been funded by a $2.75M federal grant, which is no longer expected to come through; these additional\u00a0elements may be delayed, although public-private partnerships remain a possibility.<\/p>\n \u00a0Commissioners\u2019 Comment<\/p>\n Talavera recommended\u00a0seeking out public\/private partnerships, so as not to disappoint the public involved in pre-planning. \u00a0<\/p>\n Freeman commented\u00a0that renovations may need to be multi-phase, since federal grants often have many strings attached.\u00a0An ADA playground would be a resource for the whole city, but he recommends caution with the placement of pickleball courts near residences.\u00a0 <\/p>\n Maldonado concurred\u00a0that seeking private\/public funds may be good, depending on the strings attached.\u00a0Gym and restrooms\u00a0will be completed\u00a0for\u00a0now, the playground in Phase 2 and the back of the park in Phase 3.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Commissioners\u00a0unanimously\u00a0praised staff for a dynamic 2025 and requested\u00a0that\u00a0Parks and Rec\u00a0meetings be started\u00a0earlier\u00a0at 6pm in the future. \u00a0<\/p>\n Chair Maldonado asked\u00a0staff\u00a0for future updates\u00a0on the parks master plan, the\u00a0urban forest master plan, and\u00a0the possibility of placing\u00a0bike racks\u00a0at entrances of trails.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n