By Ken Striplin
Santa Clarita City Manager
The City of Santa Clarita is excited to invite the entire community to join us for the grand opening celebration of the new Canyon Country Community Center. This much-anticipated facility is complete and ready to welcome residents for activities, programs, learning opportunities, events and more.
The celebration will take place on Saturday, October 30, from 10 a.m. to noon at the new Community Center located at the intersection of Sierra Highway and Soledad Canyon Road. The event will kick off with a short program featuring the City Council, followed by the official ribbon cutting ceremony. Then guests will have the chance to explore the entire nine-acre site, including the centerpiece, the 25,000-square-foot Community Center building.
As residents explore the site, they can take part in arts and crafts, activities, enjoy performances on the events stage, grab a snack from one of the food trucks and learn more about the classes and programs the new Center will offer. Guests will be among the first to explore the many public art pieces. Greeting guests at the corner where the massive billboards once stood is the 25-foot-tall art piece, aptly named “Communitree.” The piece represents the City’s beloved oak trees, with steel and acrylic plexiglass leaves that have a kinetic effect allowing them to flutter in the breeze, recreating the movement of leaves blowing in the wind. There is also a mural made out of ceramic tiles, a bike rack that is a piece of art and several poems written by community members stamped in the meandering walking paths.
The grounds surrounding the facility offer a playground with inclusive play elements, a half basketball court, a Mercado which can be used for events and a terrace which is a beautiful backdrop for weddings. Inside the Center there is a full gymnasium, class rooms, a dance room and the Grand Room. The Grand Room will be a place for community gatherings which can accommodate smaller groups for meetings and groups of up to 350 people for galas and fundraisers. From the brick columns and rich woods, to the paneled ceilings and natural light, the new Community Center was designed thoughtfully to be beautiful and functional. The Grand Room also offers a demonstration teaching kitchen with enough room for people to hone their culinary skills, while other participants can watch the process through an audio-visual system that broadcasts the cooking class.
The new Canyon Country Community Center is the latest City facility which will enhance the already high-quality of life residents enjoy here in Santa Clarita. We are excited to add this crucial new facility to the list of City amenities which includes; three Libraries, the George A. Caravalho Santa Clarita Sports Complex, eight pools, The Cube, the Newhall Community Center, three Metrolink Stations, the Santa Clarita Skatepark, Trek Bike Part of Santa Clarita, The MAIN theatre and many more.
We look forward to seeing all of you at the grand opening celebration for this new hub of enrichment and activity in Santa Clarita.
