Get to know Long Beach’s Willow Springs Park with free weekend activities
A six-week series of events that starts this Sunday will include photography and drawing outings, a talk on the park’s history and an interactive music program.
Willow Springs Park may not look like much to the casual passer-by, but it’s slated to become the biggest public green space in Central Long Beach, and park boosters want more people to drop by and see it.
In August, the City Council began the process of dedicating the nearly 50-acre property on Orange Avenue between Willow and Spring streets as a park in perpetuity. Now, the Friends of Willow Springs Park have announced a series of free community events at the park so more residents can see what they believe is a hidden gem.
The “Willow Springs Park Experiences” were launched in 2023 with a few hiccups, according to Mauna Eichner, who leads the Friends group. They initially didn’t realize they needed city permits for their events, but now they understand the process and “this year we’re doing everything right,” she said.
A ukulele concert and photography event were popular last year, so music and art are part of this year’s lineup, which runs Sundays from Sept. 22 to Oct. 27.
“Showing the city how many people actually love Willow Springs Park – and these experiences are definitely helping with that – feels important” as city parks officials and volunteers seek more funding to develop and restore the park, Eichner said.
About 11 acres of restored wetlands with a walking trail were opened in 2017, but the rest of the park acreage needs some work. Eventually “we want it to be not just considered a park, we want it to be a nature preserve,” Eichner said.
“The flora and fauna of Willow Springs Park is just something that you don’t find at any other parks in the city of Long Beach,” she said.
Willow Springs Park Experiences are free (reservations requested at WSPExperiences@gmail.com) and take place over the next six Sundays at 2745 Orange Ave. The schedule includes:
- Healing in the Park, Sept. 22 from 3-4:30 p.m.
- Photography in the Park, Sept. 29 from 3-5 p.m.
- History in the Park, Oct. 6 from 10 a.m. to noon
- Drawing in the Park, Oct. 13 from 3-5 p.m.
- Music in the Park, Oct. 20 from 3-5 p.m.
- Words in the Park, Oct. 27 from 3-5 p.m.
Click here for more information.
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