Were you among the approximately 6,000 people who celebrated Independence Day at Brea’s July 4 Country Fair in City Hall Park?
Maybe you are also back in the park for Brea’s free Concerts in the Park series on Wednesdays. There’s live musical entertainment for all tastes.
On July 20, Neon Nation will be playing hit tunes from the 1980s. Not your taste? How about some vintage rock and R&B from the Rayford Brothers on July 27?
If you are in the mood for doo-wop, catch the Alley Cats on Aug. 3. But if cool soul tunes, some Motown, R&B or funk jazz are what you are craving, be sure to catch the Blue Breeze Band on Aug. 10, the final concert for the summer. I guess if polka or music for clog dancing is your choice, maybe better luck next year.
Concerts all start at 6:30 p.m.
While many people visit the Concerts in the Park for the music, some dancing or meeting up with friends, others also come for the famous tri-tip sandwiches, prepared hot-off-the-grill by folks from North Hills Church. According to Rev. Doug Green, they’ve been serving those delicious tri-tip sandwiches since 1998.
The Brea Senior Center sells concert goers popcorn and other snacks, said Kris Kataoka, the city’s theater manager-community services supervisor, and Experience Brea Arts has sodas and bottled water, while Philly Phil’s offers Italian ice and other cold treats. You don’t have to worry about being hungry at Concerts in the Park.
Everyone, of course, is welcome to bring their own sandwiches and snacks, and be sure to bring chairs or a blanket to sit on.
Now is a good time to plan a visit to the Brea Museum and Historical Society, also located in the historic City Hall Park. The museum located there in 2007, said its curator, Linda Shay.
“The museum is open Thursdays and Saturdays, 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.,” said Shay, who added that they would soon add Tuesdays to the visitor days. Stay tuned.
Admission to the museum is free, but donations are gladly accepted. The exhibits of Brea’s history and the people who were a part of it’s early days are displayed throughout the two-story museum.
Take a self-tour or with a museum docent who will answer all of your questions. There are a lot of “did you know” discoveries at the Brea Museum, including the jail downstairs. Do check it out.
Something else to check out at City Hall Park is The Plunge. It opened in 1929 and is Orange County’s oldest continuously in operation municipal swimming pool. It is open from June to mid-August. During Concerts in the Park it is open in the evening from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Take a swim with great music in the background.
Brea’s City Hall Park and all three structures on it are on the National Registry of Historical Places. According to Shay, those structures are the only ones in Brea on the National Registry. Glad they are.
It was named City Hall Park because what is now the Brea Lions Scout Center was Brea’s city hall, and the police and fire departments were all located there.
Terri Daxon is a freelance writer and the owner of Daxon Marketing Communications. She gives her perspective on Brea issues twice a month. Contact her at [email protected].