2019 ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Funds generated from Gala in Graceada, along with several other community players, made it possible for some
amazing transformations at the corner of Enslen Ave. and Stoddard Ave. at Enslen Park.
Check out the video below to see the Boyett Petroleum and Valero volunteers help out at their “Day of Caring”.
Gala in Graceada Accomplishments
Background
The neighbors in the College Area have been making small improvements to their neighborhood for over the past decade. As the demands for more substantial improvements increased, so did the need to generate more significant funds. In 2018, a group of dedicated neighbors banded together and developed the idea to have a beautiful, outdoor, benefit dinner to not only highlight the potential beauty of these historic parks but also increase Modesto’s awareness for the need to help restore the life in both Graceada and Enslen parks.
The first-ever Gala in Graceada was held in 2019 and had the ambition of raising enough funds to do two things: first, create a community plaza in front of the Boy Scout Clubhouse and secondly, launch free summer-long programming. We are proud to announce that we were able to knock out both of these projects!
Gala in Graceada is hosted by the College Area Neighborhood Alliance (CANA), a part of Modesto Neighborhoods Inc., a 501(c)3 charitable organization. All donations made to the Gala or CANA may be tax deductible. There is no paid staff for any of these entities. All monetary gifts are infused into the park improvement efforts dollar-for-dollar. Due to the location of Graceada Park and Enslen Park, they do not meet the criteria for much of the state or federal grant funding. To make public improvements, we rely upon the generosity of our community.
Enslen Community Plaza
The plaza was a part of a whole visioning project for both Graceada and Enslen parks. This master plan was compiled from neighborhood surveys and meetings. It was then developed with further input from the City of Modesto’s Parks, Recreation, and Neighborhoods department throughout 2016 and 2017.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between CANA and the City was created to be able to carry out these various projects over time as funding became available. To date, the MOU has helped accomplish the resuscitation of the pool and splash pad in 2018 (a Barber Family initiative), the reinstatement of the tot lot playground in 2018 (a Leadership of Modesto, Class of 2018, project), and now, the creation of this new community plaza and playground area in Enslen park.
The new plaza will be a beautiful, family–friendly complex and venue to host events or just enjoy an afternoon in the park. Because of the large scale of the project, it will be broken down into phases. Phase one included the demolition of the existing horseshoe pits, creation of new plaza, installment of new playground, improved security lighting, and ADA upgrades. We are seeing another phase to include the replacement of horseshoe pits, the creation of bocce ball courts, increased seating, installment of aesthetic arbors, and a low-barrier perimeter fence. The improvements to this area will also include the interior of the Boy Scout Clubhouse. There is much conversation that needs to happen between CANA, the City of Modesto, and other interested parties to update and beautify the interior of this 70+ year old structure.
Although the Gala was able to provide the initial funding and energy to work on this plaza project, the completion of ‘phase one’ would not have been possible without the generous contributions of several Modesto individuals and businesses. In particular, we would like to recognize our community champions for their monetary contributions: Boyett Petroleum, Valero Energy, the City of Modesto, Beard Land & Investment Company. There are several businesses that contributed their services and generous in-kind donations as well: Collin’s Electric, Stuart McClanahan Construction, and Simile Construction. The collaboration with the City of Modesto, Parks, Recreation, and Neighborhoods department staff contributed greatly to making this project successful.
October 21st, 2019 was a Day of Caring in which both Boyett and Valero invited several employees out to the park to take part in a major volunteer day. They spread mountains of mulch, planted several trees, and assembled new playground equipment. This volunteer labor was essential to the completion of the project.
Sundays in Graceada
In addition to making park improvements, Gala in Graceada board members thought it important to have reasons or events in the park to draw children, adults, neighbors, and families to the park. The concept of “Sundays in Graceada” was modeled after other cities who developed free park programming for the enjoyment of their citizens.
Just two weeks after the 2019 Gala in Graceada, Sundays in Graceada was launched over Memorial Day weekend. It was a rainy weekend but nonetheless there was complimentary Pilates (thank you Studio V!), face painting, and popsicles! Every Sunday, Memorial Day Weekend through Labor Day weekend, there was some element of play in the park. We invited people to partake in drum circles, coloring, yoga, tie dye, boot camp, splash pad dance party, Pilates, open swim, and splash pad time! None of the businesses or individuals accepted any compensation. The City of Modesto was instrumental in the success of this program.
Gala in Graceada funds were used to cover event-only expenses, permitting costs, and miscellaneous expenditures.
To the Future
For the 2020 Gala, we are in conversation with MoBand about how to make Modesto’s beloved landmark, Mancini Bowl, more relevant to the masses. MoBand recently celebrated their 100 year anniversary and has been using Mancini Bowl ever since it was constructed in 1949 hosting Concerts in the Park each summer!
Funding will also be set aside for the continuation of Sundays in Graceada. If we are able to generate surplus funding, additional park projects may be evaluated for 2020.