If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed.

Restoring Muir Park
Sacramento’s urban parks are one of its strongest eco-assets and one of them has just been renovated, a worthy cause for celebration.

Tonight, from 5:30 - 8 p.m., the Alkali Flats/Mansion Flats Historical Neighborhood Association and the City of Sacramento are co-hosting the Muir Park Renovation Celebration.

Come enjoy kids activities, live music and a BBQ meal. Ribbon cutting at 6:30pm.

Muir Park, 1515 C Street

Those of you who have been around awhile know that Muir Park hasn’t always been the most desirable and family-friendly location to hang out. I believe the renovation will go a long ways towards changing this and will be a great catalyst for more urban renewal in NorthWest neighborhood of our urban core.

A Telling Success Eight Blocks Away
According to Steve Cohn, the Councilman for the neighborhood, Grant Park on 23rd and C was suffering from similar problems prior to its restoration and, while I wasn’t living here to see the transformation, I definitely benefit from the effort and can testify to its intended effect. My family frequents Grant Park and has attended several family-focused events there (my persomal favorite — Messy Day — is coming up again in July.

Parks = Kids
Pocket parks like these have so many benefits but foremost in my mind is that they are magnets for families and kids, and kids in the urban core come with their own unique set of benefits. I recently asked everyone here to share some of their insight on what kids bring to the urban core. Here’s Molly’s take:

I think the benefit for all of us to have families and children surrounding is just inherent. I (speaking as a child trying to be an adult) continually need to be reminded of what life is truly about. In life, adults can tend to lead stagnant lives filled with emptiness. Children find joy in doing things we can find daunting.

They remind of how easy it is to forgive. They prove that holding a grudge does not have any benefits. We as adults are always seeing what we have in comparison with others. Children are generally content–why is that not the case with us? I am not only speaking from my own beliefs, but in a desire to see community grow.

Communities grow when we let go. It happens when we take on the heart of a child. Love, joy, a desire for fun, and to open our own hearts toward others. To be bold, to take a risk. Do you even notice how fearless children are? Always willing to be vulnerable and put there heart out there. I want more of that.

I took my son for a bike ride the other day. About a block before a senior home he wanted to get out and walk. There were about 35 men and women sitting outside just enjoying each other, the weather, and the life that surrounds them. As we walked by every single face lite up. Their bodies glowed filled with the joy of seeing the simple actions of a child.

Ask any older person near the end of their life what brings them the most joy? Even if they never had children, I am sure they would say something about watching a child laugh or run. We need life around us. We need to see things grow. Plants are beautiful, but children are life’s biggest challenges and joys. We all gain from the joys of childhood, whether we like it or not. (As my child is chanting “I love you a hundred thousand google” in the background for the twenty eighth time, that’s my cue.)

Jason