Free cowboy hats and inflatable horses on sticks helped guests take in the western-themed Friday Night Happening hosted by Valencia by Fivepoint at “The Porch” in Valencia.
The food trucks, local shops that sold jewelry and handmade crafts, children’s activities and live music from indie folk musician Kyle Schuesler, who recently performed on NBC’s “The Voice,” were all part of the gathering that Fivepoint representatives hoped would bring people together in the newer Valencia community.
“This is our way of introducing the community to folks that might be interested in moving into this area, and also a good way for the residents to network,” said Recyl Chapman, a Fivepoint executive assistant. “This is our third year doing this, and we usually do three or four every summer. This will be our last one for this summer. And people love it.”
The Friday Night Happening took place at what the community calls “The Porch” on Navigation Way just off Magic Mountain Parkway behind the Six Flags theme park. In addition to outdoor dining at tables set up around the property, many attendees dined on the lawn and listened to Schuesler play guitar.
Tatum and Charlie Floral and Event Design offered free cowboy hats to guests, and also inflatable horses on sticks to children at the event. Most guests seemed to walk over to the Friday Night Happening from their residences across the way, while others drove out.
Jenny Leonard, who’s lived in the Fivepoint community for about two years, said she regularly attends these community get-togethers. She said that she even met someone for the first time at Friday’s happening, they exchanged numbers, and they even planned to get their kids together for a future play date. This is the kind of thing that drew Leonard and her husband to the area to begin with.
“We liked the whole idea of it being this kind of community and having these kinds of events,” she said. “Besides the Friday night events, they did a luau, they do the gardens one every Thursday, they have a farmer’s market every Sunday.”
Another resident of the area, Perumal Shunmugapriyan, came with his family to take in the fun. He said he’d moved to Valencia about two years ago from Pasadena. Shunmugapriyan’s son, Aadhyan, played a hoop-on-horse ring-toss game for quite some time, trying to toss a hoop over a wooden horse’s neck. After several tries, he finally did it.
Chapman added that the Valencia community is steadily growing and that the gatherings are becoming increasingly popular.
“In addition to this,” she said, “we have other events that go on throughout the community, and it’s posted on a website called Valencia.com. We’ve had events here on how to grow your garden, how to make bouquets, flower arranging. We’ve had ‘making your own jam preserves’ events. We’ve had all kinds of different events that go on here — a lot of free stuff.”
She added the annual pumpkin patch event will feature live music and food trucks.
According to the Valencia website, the new community is intended to be a “vibrant place that’s inspired by the beauty of nature, where people take time to slow down, walk or ride bikes to parks, and find a culture of connection with their friends, families and neighbors.” Chapman said she feels that’s exactly what people in the area have been experiencing so far, and they shared those sentiments with her all evening.
