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Chicano Heritage Month

Chicano heritage is a big part of Anaheim’s history, culture and community.

Celebrate Chicano Heritage Month with free events across Anaheim highlighting the contributions of those of Mexican American heritage.

The monthlong celebration includes art workshops for teens, family crafts and a Chicano art exhibit. There is something for everyone of all ages and backgrounds.

Teens kick off the fun at Central Library with Monstruos and Mitos: make your own cryptid on Tuesday, Aug. 4, from 4-5 p.m.

You can make their own cryptid — a mythical creature, like a chupacabra or bigfoot — using materials from the library. The workshop is open to ages 13 and older.

Families with younger kids can join us at the East Anaheim Branch on Saturday, Aug. 15, from 1-2 p.m. to make their own piñata and fill it with treats.

At Sunkist Branch, kids 13 and younger can make traditional Mexican tin art on Friday, Aug. 21, from 4-5 p.m.

Kids can create their own works and learn about the technical aspects of shaping tins.

On Tuesday, Aug. 25, from 4:30-5:30 p.m., Central Library will host Lotería en la Biblioteca for Teens, where teens can have fun playing the classic game of lotería for fun and prizes.

Teens can also explore the art of alebrijes — colorful spirit creatures inspired by Mexican folk art — during Alebrijes: Arte con Amigos for Teens at Central Library on Sunday, Aug. 30, from 2-3:30 p.m.

Our celebration also includes a Chicano Heritage art exhibit through Aug. 25 at the Downtown Anaheim Community Center.

The exhibit features portraits and works by iconic Chicano muralist Emigdio Vasquez alongside other local artists.

All events are free. For more, visit Anaheim.net/ChicanoHeritageMonth.

A night of family fun with Anaheim Police

Keeping Anaheim safe is a serious job, but National Night Out is all family fun with the Anaheim Police Department.

Join us this Tuesday, Aug. 4, from 5-8 p.m., for this yearly tradition.

This year's event is at Juarez Park, at 841 S. Sunkist St., next to the Sunkist Branch Library.

The event is free with food trucks and other items available to buy.

National Night Out is a nationwide event that celebrates community policing and connection to our neighborhoods.

Anaheim Police will display our helicopter Angel, motorcycles, tactical vehicles, the amazing horses of our Mounted Unit and the incredible police dogs of our K-9 team.

Bring your family, friends and neighbors to hang out with our city's police team and enjoy live music, food, games and more.

The doughnut-eating contest is always a crowd favorite. Anaheim's own Jason Perez of Community Services is the reigning champ for three years running — and he's not even a cop!

Parking is at the neighboring Juarez Elementary School and street parking in the area. Please note the Sunkist Branch lot off Sunkist Street is for library parking during the event.

See you there.

One of Anaheim's most beloved neighborhood parks is getting its biggest upgrade in decades.

Construction starts this month on a skate park at Boysen, the first step in a larger transformation of the 24-acre iconic park, fondly known to many as airplane park.

The half-acre skate park will be Anaheim's ninth city skate park when it opens in late 2026.

Set for the corner of Vermont Avenue and State College Boulevard, the $1.6 million skate park will have a pool-style bowl, a quarter-pipe, mini halfpipe, rails, ledges, seating and a shade structure.

The skate park is just the start for a renewal of Boysen Park.

After Anaheim received $15 million in state funding in 2022, residents, students from Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School and youth sports groups helped shape a plan for Boysen Park through a series of workshops.

The community asked that the park renovation be completed in phases, allowing Boysen Park to remain open during through it all and while the city pursues additional funding.

Plans for future phases include an airplane-themed playground, walking paths, landscaping, shaded picnic areas, lighted basketball courts, a butterfly and pollinator garden, new bathrooms, expanded parking and other improvements.

Boysen Park has been a neighborhood gathering place since opening in 1959.

Named after former Anaheim parks superintendent Rudy Boysen — creator and namesake of the boysenberry — the park's showcase feature is a resurfaced Korean War-era Navy Cougar jet that has welcomed generations of kids to the playground.

The new skate park also builds on Anaheim's long skateboarding legacy.

The city hosted the first nationally televised skateboarding competition at La Palma Park in 1965, bringing the growing sport to a national audience.

A year later, in 1966, the original Vans shoe factory opened in downtown Anaheim, launching a brand that would become synonymous with skateboarding around the world.

Giving your yard a makeover with water-efficient, sustainable landscaping can bring water-bill savings while transforming the look of your home.

All across Anaheim, homes and businesses have traded water-hungry grass for colorful plants, decorative rocks, granite pathways and other creative designs that bring added curb appeal.

Anaheim Public Utilities is here to help.

We're hosting a sustainable landscape workshop this Saturday, Aug. 8, from 9:30 a.m.-noon at our Sustainability Education Center at 888 S. Rose Place.

Registration for this free event is strongly encouraged as space is limited. Register here.

This workshop is set to cover the benefits of water-efficient landscaping, evaluating and laying out your space, removing existing landscaping, adding efficient drip watering and more.

The goal is to promote water conservation, help residents save money on water bills and to encourage beautiful, water-efficient yards.

A grass yard can use 50,000 or more gallons of water a year.

A water-efficient yard can use 50%-70% less water, saving you money on watering and maintenance.

While Anaheim Public Utilities is our not-for-profit utility and provides cost-effective water, our bills are based on how much water we use.

So the less you use, the more you save.

And water-efficient yards can look great! Learn more at our workshop or Anaheim.net/savewater.