Episode 4: District56 What is it? Why you should visit.

Anchored in the heart of Elk Grove, 56 acres inspire celebration and connection. Community Event Center Manager Lana Yoshimura shares some of the details about District56, the city’s newest gathering space, and the amenities and local partners who are part of this unique public facility. John and Kristyn also discuss the September 11 anniversary, share a bit about the Elk Grove Multicultural Festival, and discuss ways that Explore Elk Grove and Sky River Casino are contributing to Elk Grove’s quality of life. 

Episode Transcript

Announcer (00:01):
Welcome to Elk Grove City cast, the podcast about Elk

John Hull (00:16):
Hi, everybody, I'm John Hull. Welcome to the Oak
Joining me every city cast isKristyn Laurence, the city's

Kristyn Laurence (00:56):
Yeah, I don't think there's really anyone that

John Hull (01:04):
You know, we remember and I'm going to read your we

(01:26):
those called emojis of of a firetruck, a police car and an

(01:48):
too. Did one of your graphicspeople in your office do that?

Kristyn Laurence (01:53):
Absolutely.
One of our very talented

John Hull (01:57):
If you remember that the one thing that sticks out,

(02:22):
our country. And let's rememberthose who lost their lives that

(02:42):
neighbor from across the street.
And before you knew it, we had

Kristyn Laurence (02:57):
It was a very unifying moment for the country

(03:19):
know, as a young mom with smallchildren trying to figure out

(03:39):
time it was it was a lot like itright, like you just knew where

John Hull (03:49):
That's true. That in the moon landing, those are the

(04:12):
that an annual event for thecity of Elk Grove.

Kristyn Laurence (04:15):
So Elk Grove is one of the region's most
City Council back in 2011 hadsaw what our diversity meant to

(04:55):
event. Even during the pandemicwe had some version of an online

(05:16):
enjoying all of the festivities.
But it's it's an opportunity forElk Grove and the very best that

(05:38):
they have to offer. And so weAnd so we've had some other

(05:59):
festivities leading up to thatartwork. And we really enjoyed
seeing everyone enjoying

John Hull (06:24):
And do you know speaking of this festival being
It's been around a while here inElk Grove district 56 located

(07:06):
Citycast.

Lana Yoshimura (07:08):
Nice to be here.
Thanks for inviting me.

John Hull (07:10):
Well, you have the opportunity to tell some of us

Lana Yoshimura (07:18):
I think of District 56 as a third space. So
choose to go to. It could beconcerts, it could be cafes,

John Hull (07:44):
Okay, you know, I was looking up some archives in the

(08:05):
children's museum, library, anda botanical garden/nature

Lana Yoshimura (08:16):
Most of those facilities are actually
was The Preserve, which openedin 2021. The fourth phase is

(08:49):
we're able to operate before westarted the next part of the

John Hull (08:55):
Well, the center has been described as a wedding

Lana Yoshimura (09:06):
Yes, we are doing great business with lots
different events that arehappening. 12 different private

John Hull (09:32):
Good. Tell tell us what the Avenue of the Arts is.

Lana Yoshimura (09:37):
The Avenue of the Arts is a large open space
visual arts, and the performingarts. This a space where the

John Hull (10:09):
Okay. I saw something on your website called the

Lana Yoshimura (10:15):
The Neighborhood Market is a partnership with an

John Hull (10:27):
All right. Now, you know, for many years, the Senior

Lana Yoshimura (10:41):
The Senior Center is one of our nonprofit
Friday. They have a variety ofclasses, from music to fitness

John Hull (11:11):
I hear it's a mean place for cribbage too.

Lana Yoshimura (11:14):
Bunco is usually their game. Sorry, don't want to

John Hull (11:19):
That's true. That one too. All right. So we also have

Lana Yoshimura (11:22):
Certainly. we have....keeping with our

(11:46):
space here. Their membershipgenerally meets here as well as
Center. We've brought acounselor down here once a week

John Hull (12:12):
Okay. You know, one of the most used facilities

(12:34):
of course, there's a lot ofpeople that just love to swim

Lana Yoshimura (12:41):
Well, like you said, John, swimming is becoming
very popular. We have two hometeams here the Elk Grove

(13:15):
water slides. So our capacity isabout 1200 people during an open

(13:38):
aerobics as well as aqua joggingor aqua spin, Aqua spin. Those

John Hull (13:46):
I'm just curious, is there a is there a charge if you

Lana Yoshimura (13:54):
There is actually a charge. Those fees

John Hull (14:11):
Okay, that's great.
You know, neighbors of mine haveit is. Here in the middle of Elk
Grove, we have this natural

Lana Yoshimura (14:43):
The majority of it is actually natural and it
56. As an overview, you have allthe active uses the community

(15:19):
actually was kept prettynatural. We did put in things
including the pistachio orchard,which is part of the farmstead

John Hull (15:38):
And let me ask, yeah, but you did add some aerators in

Lana Yoshimura (15:51):
Yeah, aerators actually serve a variety of
how we want to preserve this, wetry to use as minimal of

(16:27):
aerators help to move the waterso algae doesn't build up in

John Hull (16:31):
I noticed the signs, the frequent signs, that said

(16:51):
to it looks like about two orthree inches long is that true?

Lana Yoshimura (16:55):
We do try to cut some of that down. You also want
to keep the grass down. A lot ofthe areas that are habitat

John Hull (17:27):
Yeah, I noticed on your website, the trees,
plus the Arroyo Willow. So youhave quite a quite a number of

Lana Yoshimura (17:50):
Yes, and then they're also indigenous to the
this area. One, it would bedifficult to maintain. And

(18:24):
solar arrays. So, there is an aplace that's near the pond, that
what was existing in the region.

John Hull (18:45):
Yeah, you've done a wonderful job there. It's been

Lana Yoshimura (18:55):
We have a we always have a lot going on,
run. As we move into the fall,we're looking at having a Dia de

(19:33):
Cafe Elk Grove, grab a cup ofcoffee, walk The Preserve and

John Hull (19:38):
Well. It's been interesting Lana Yoshimura,

Lana Yoshimura (19:46):
Thank you. Have a great day.

John Hull (19:54):
Each Citycast, I ask Kristyn questions that I have
[e-mail].
That'sFriday, September 22. So I was

(20:36):
curious about the relationship

Kristyn Laurence (20:48):
Okay, well, Explore Elk Grove is its own
directors and a staff that arecommitted to promoting and

(21:21):
and wineries in our area. Andguests have a chance to learn
few general admission spots thatare still available. And people

John Hull (21:50):
And I might add that they have also produced a couple

(22:11):
centerpiece photo recently in anissue that Elk Grove Citizen was

Kristyn Laurence (22:30):
Sure. So Sky River Casino just celebrated
going to be made as part of aMemorandum of Understanding

(23:06):
partners provide these funds tosupport city services like
looking check was helpingreinforce that they are

(23:41):
fantastic.

John Hull (23:43):
Yeah, it's a lot of money. Well, and well needed
talk about the city's codeenforcement department and all

Announcer (24:15):
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