New Name, Special Spaces & Construction Catch-up in Shadelands

ARF is partnering with twelve local rescue groups and shelters to have lots of adorable pups and kittens, dogs and cats on campus, looking for love and ready for adoption.

ARF's Community Solutions team will offer free microchipping to the first 100 pets.

Spend the day with food trucks, free ice cream, face-painting, music, prizes, and four-legged friends.

Animal Rescue Foundation

2890 Mitchell Drive

Walnut Creek

925.256.1273

Kittens and cats (and pups and dogs) from a dozen rescue groups and shelters will be available for adoption on one day, February 17, at one location, ARF.

Plenty of pups and dogs (and kittens and cats) from local rescue groups and shelters will be looking for love on February 17 at ARF.

FOOD TRUCK THURSDAYS FEBRUARY 2024 DELIGHTS

Food Truck Thursdays, located in the parking lot of Kaiser Permanente Park Shadelands Medical Offices at 370 Lennon Lane, continues into the new year.

Open to the public Thursdays, 11:30am–2pm, Food Truck Thursdays is presented by Taste of the World Market, whose motto is Taste International. Support Local.

In February, look for:

• February 1 | King Gyro & Kabob

• February 8 | El Gran Taco Loco

• February 15 | Roadside SF

• February 29 | Ofie's Kitchen

Bring your appetite, family & friends!

Food truck line-up and food truck appearance are subject to change.

Food Truck Thursdays

11:30am–2pm

Kaiser Permanente

Park Shadelands Medical Offices

370 Lennon Lane

Walnut Creek

El Gran Taco Loco, February 8, 2024

A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE

We first met Pretty Tea Parties & Events in the December 2022 issue of The Shadelands Scene, a year after owner Denise Munoz launched her distinctive, elegantly appointed party and event space in Shadelands.

Since then, the High Tea main room, with its look and feel of royalty and romance, fantasy and fairies, has been regularly booked for high teas and ladies luncheons; Sweet 16's; bridal and baby showers; company get-togethers; photo shoots; and magical princess parties for the younger set.

Now Denise has added a second space, the Woodlands Experience, a more intimate room featuring hand-painted woodland scenery and murals, a dry cobble stream passing under a foot bridge, friendly wildlife, 3D trees with branches and foliage where birds and butterflies live, and the resident woodland deer.

The High Tea Room holds 40 guests; the more intimate Woodlands Room is designed for Tea for Two up to ten guests. Both rooms by reservation.

"We offer a distinctive, immersive experience that is much like having an upscale lunch or picnic in the woods, but without the ticks!" says Denise, who designed, created, and painted the space herself. "The room is woodsy-cute as is, and can be a base for anyone wanting to add their own decorations to create an Alice in Wonderland, forest animals, fairy, or even camping theme."

The Woodlands space is an experience for all five senses, complete with the scent of pine and natural sounds of woodland birds, offering a cozy corner of the forest, far removed from the concrete and congestion outside the front door.

Pretty Tea Parties & Events

520 Lennon Lane, Suite B

Walnut Creek

925.325.5457

Pretty Tea Parties' new Woodland Experience offers a touch of nature with tea and treats.

After crossing the foot bridge, guests enter a world of greenery and wildlife.

3D trees and wall murals were handcrafted by Pretty Tea Parties owner Denise Munoz.

SEQUOIA SURGICAL PAVILION NAMED 2023 TOP ASC

Congratulations to Sequoia Surgical Pavilion (SSP), recognized as a 2023 Top ASC (ambulatory surgery center) by The Leapfrog Group, a national watchdog nonprofit that advocates for patent safety.

Based on excellence in upholding quality standards across several areas of patient care and safety, the award is widely recognized as one of the most competitive honors U.S. surgery centers can earn.

ASCs are modern healthcare facilities focused on providing same-day surgical care and preventative procedures that were once performed exclusively in hospitals.

Nationwide, only 27 awards were given for 2023, and SSP is the sole California ASC to receive this award, among 800 in the state.

“We know we do a great job,” said Administrative Director Marie Yarborough, who accepted the award, along with Director of Nursing Amanda Morales, at Leapfrog's December 2023 annual conference.

"But it’s nice to be recognized like this on a national stage by such a prestigious organization. This also speaks volumes about our physicians who bring their cases here and the trust that the community puts in our work at Sequoia Surgical Pavilion.”

Sequoia Surgical Pavilion

2405 Shadelands Drive

Suite 200

Walnut Creek

925.935.6700

(l) Amanda Morales, Director of Nursing, and (r) Marie Yarborough, Administrative Director, accepted the 2023 Top ASC Award on behalf of Sequoia Surgical Pavilion.

FEBRUARY CIVIC AFFAIRS:

BAY AREA ECONOMIC UPDATE

What are experts saying about the San Francisco Bay Area's economic outlook post-pandemic?

Join the Walnut Creek Chamber of Commerce at its February Civic Affairs Forum, Bay Area Economic Update, presented by Wells Fargo and featuring Matt Regan, Senior Vice President, Public Policy for Bay Area Council.

Bay Area Economic Update

Tuesday, February 13

9–10am | Virtual only

Matt will offer an economic update, discussing where we are today compared to pre-pandemic levels, how the Bay Area compares to California and the U.S., key employment sectors, and what has changed in the past three years.

Matt Regan is Senior Vice President of Public Policy, Bay Area Council, whose responsibilities include promoting the organization's legislative and political agendas at the local, state, and federal levels.

GILBERT & SULLIVAN AND THE BEATLES ARE COMING TO CoCoSPA

Under the guidance of Vocal Program Director Alivia Logan, Contra Costa School of Performing Arts (CoCoSPA), two highly anticipated student vocal performances are coming to the school's stages.

Beatles Showcase

Tuesday, March 5 | 6pm

Multi-use Room

$5 | Tickets online

The Beatles Showcase is a fun, festive celebration of the legendary Fab Four, whose distinctive lyrics and musical qualities have been a cultural influence the past 60 years. The public is invited to share in the music and the memories.

Gilbert & Sullivan’s

H.M.S. Pinafore, Act I

Friday, April 26 | 7pm

Sunday, April 28 | 5pm

Black Box Theater

Tickets online

Gilbert & Sullivan’s Victorian Era comic operas are known for their fast-paced, witty and satirical operatic lyrics, catchy melodies, and comedic characters, and are often regarded as the forerunners of modern musicals.

In April, CoCoSPA vocal majors will perform the first act of H.M.S. Pinafore, which remains one of Gilbert & Sullivan’s most popular operettas.

“This is the first time these brave and talented students in opera workshop have taken on the brilliance of Gilbert & Sullivan,” said Alivia, who’s been vocal program director since 2018.

The production features vocal majors 9th through 12th grades, with 8th graders, and even some musically inclined staff members, making up the ensemble.

Contra Costa School

of Performing Arts

2730 Mitchell Drive

Walnut Creek

925.235.1130

Songs from The Beatles Abbey Road will be featured in the Beatles Showcase, March 5 (Photo credit Ian MacMillian, 1969)

“This is a fun way to get everybody involved in this big, joyful production,” said Alivia. “And that’s what the audience can expect—joy joy and laughter.”

Don’t be surprised if you leave the theater humming a bit of I Am the Captain of the Pinafore.

ARTS AFTER DARK FOR ADULTS,

FEBRUARY 21

Shake up your weeknight and join Center for Community Arts for an evening of art, music, and snacks.

Arts After Dark

February 21 | 6–8pm

Shadelands Art Center

Community Arts teaching artists will lead drop-in art-making workshops for adults, 18+, accompanied by musical performances and light refreshments.

Center for Community Arts

Shadelands Art Center

111 N. Wiget lane

Walnut Creek

925.195.1490

SHADELANDS PEDESTRIAN IMPROVEMENT PROJECT

The Shadelands Drive & N. Wiget Lane Pedestrian Improvement Project begins in April and is expected to be completed in two months.

Currently, the southwest corner of that intersection lacks a sidewalk for a length of more than 400’ at the frontage of the Master Gardener's Our Garden along both streets.

The project calls for the installation of new sidewalks to close this gap, and for the existing sidewalk to be widened to 10'. Additionally, curbs and gutters, curb ramps, sidewalk drains, and a new streetlight will be installed along the frontage and at the corner, and the asphalt roadway adjacent to the new curb and gutter will be repaired.

Pedestrian improvements planned at SW corner of Shadelands Drive & N. Wiget Lane.

Look for construction updates in future issues of The Shadelands Scene.

CONSTRUCTION UPDATE: PRIMROSE SCHOOL

Despite the recent rains, construction continues on the Primrose School of Walnut Creek, a national family of accredited early education and care schools, and the building is going up, up, and up.

The 12,838-SF frame is now clearly visible on the final vacant parcel of land in The Orchards, adjacent to Mike Hess Brewing. Plans are to open Spring 2024.

Check out the Primrose School project on the City's Development Projects page.