Walnut Creek Arts + Rec Annual Report (FY2018)

ANNUAL REPORT 2018

• Bedford Gallery • Boundary Oak Golf Course • Center for Community Arts • Center REPertory Company • Lesher Center for the Arts • Walnut Creek Aquatics • Walnut Creek Recreation

PHOTOS Cover (clockwise from top): Center REP’s production of Million Dollar Quartet, John Michael Presney* as Carl Perkins and Trent Rowland* as Elvis Presley (*member, Actors’ Equity Association).

Aquatics, printmaking and summer camp programs.

Right: Patron’s at Bedford Gallery’s exhibit of Ned Kahn: Seed Vortez, 2018 2

WELCOME! This year was one of exciting growth and development for Walnut Creek Arts + Recreation! Hundreds of thousands of community members enjoyed aquatics programs, classes, performances, exhibitions, and special events, creating vibrancy and building community throughout the city.

This 2018 annual report highlights some of our accomplishments from the past year, centered around the themes of our Department’s values: High Quality and Excellence Exceptional Customer Experience Innovation Collaboration Fun We hope these values resonate with you and are representative of how our programs cultivate a thriving city by building connections, welcoming neighbors, and developing unique skills and talents.

At our core, the Arts and Recreation Department believes that the excellence of our work is essential to the quality of life for Walnut Creek. We focus on creating meaningful experiences, being inclusive and respectful of all community members, and especially on bringing fun and joy to our participants and staff. Our entrepreneurial approach, combined with strategic partnerships, allow for an impressive depth and breadth of activities while recovering two-thirds of our expenses through program revenues. You’ll see examples of all of these in the pages that follow.

I invite you to get out and join us! Whether you’re looking for an opportunity to play, discover, grow, connect, or experience something new, Walnut Creek Arts + Recreation has a place

for you.

Kevin Safine

Arts + Recreation Director

CONTENTS 4 - 11 12 - 13 14 15

2018 Accomplishments Leadership & Financial Performance Coming in 2018-2019 Connect with Us

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HIGH QUALITY and EXCELLENCE Nationally recognized Bedford Gallery Tours Exhibitions Nationwide The Bedford Gallery, located in the Lesher Center for the Arts, welcomes an annual audience of 30,000 to enjoy exhibitions that present contemporary, modern and historic artworks. The Gallery is dedicated to providing the public with opportunities to learn about art that is accessible, varied and challenging, with programs that reflect and engage our diverse community.

Exhibitions curated by the Bedford Gallery are in high demand by art venues across the US. Over the years, the Bedford has cultivated a growing list of dedicated museums who exhibit the Bedford’s exhibitions, providing revenue to support gallery programs and positive press for Walnut Creek as a hub for engaging art in cities nationwide. In 2017, the My Hero! touring exhibition was profiled in Alaska Beyond, Alaska Airlines’ monthly inflight magazine, with a readership of nearly 4 million.

Four exhibitions are currently on tour: • • • • •

Personal to Political: Celebrating the African American Artists of Paulson Fontaine Press (2018), Cut Up/Cut Out (2016-17), My Hero: Contemporary Art & Superhero Action (2016), Blow Up: Inflatable Contemporary Art (2015), and soon to tour: The World of Frida: Contemporary Art about Frida Kahlo (2018).

Marco Terenziani, Frida Jacket, 2018, digital art.

Image courtesy of the artist.

A legacy of fun – over 30 years of Walnut Creek Day Camp!

Walnut Creek Day Camp is the quintessential camp experience – filled with outdoor adventures, arts and crafts, and making new friends. With a management staff with combined experience of 50 years running summer camps, and a camp counselor team that includes local school teachers, our day camp curriculum builds new skills while promoting fun. We’re proud that the quality of our camp programs keeps families coming back year after year, including former campers who have returned as counselors!

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Walnut Creek Day Camp participants

50 years of excellence from Center REP Center REPertory Company, the City’s resident professional theatre company, celebrated fifty years of theatrical productions during the 2017-2018 season.

Originally performing in a walnut grower’s warehouse, affectionately called the “Nuthouse,” Center REP has continued to enhance the quality of their productions at the Lesher Center for the Arts. As a producing theatre company, Center REP conceives and develops all aspects of the performances here in Walnut Creek.

With productions ranging from contemporary musicals and classic dramas to the popular A Christmas Carol, Center REP enhances the cultural life of Walnut Creek and celebrates the power of human imagination!

World renowned artists and speakers visit the Lesher Center for the Arts Through partnerships with Diablo Regional Arts Association (DRAA) and the Lesher Foundation, award winning artists and inspiring speakers grace the Lesher Center for the Arts stages each year. The 2017 DRAA Jazz Series included the Monty Alexander Trio, known for playing with iconic entertainers like Frank Sinatra, Miles Davis, and Count Basie. The 2017-2018 Lesher Newsmakers speaker series treated audiences to fascinating discussions with sports broadcaster Greg Gumbel and boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard, Alison Levine, the first American Women’s Everest expedition team captain, and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, among many others.

Boundary Oak Golf Course leads the way in environmental stewardship Boundary Oak Golf Course superintendent Jay Nuensinger was named the winner of the National Public Golf Course Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Environmental Golf Award for 2017. The Environmental Leaders in Golf award recognizes golf courses for overall course management excellence and best management practices in the areas of water conservation, pollution prevention, waste management, wildlife and habitat conservation, and more.

The course is a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary, with ongoing environmental projects including nesting boxes for barn owls to assist with rodent control, bee blocks that serve as homes for native bees, and natural pond shorelines to maintain plant diversity and protect against erosion.

Photos from top: Olivia Jane Mell* in Center REP’s production of Disney’s Freaky Friday (*member, Actors Equity Association); Greg Gumbel and Sugar Ray Leonard; Boundary Oak Golf Course 5

EXCEPTIONAL CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE Facility Improvements enhance accessibility to Community Centers Multiple projects undertaken in early 2018 enhanced the accessibility and usability of our community center spaces.

Improvements were partially funded by Community Development Block Grants and Central Contra Costa Solid Waste Authority Diversion Incentive Funds.

A new outdoor plaza and remodeled restrooms at Civic Park Community Center improved building accessibility and brought a contemporary aesthetic inside and outside the center. At Heather Farm Community Center, the ramp and entry doors to the Lakeside Room were upgraded to increase safety and ADA accessibility. And at the Lesher Center for the Arts, a new portal from the parking garage gives patrons easier access to the arts center.

Shadelands Art Center’s courtyard atrium was completely redesigned to allow for community gatherings and updated landscaping. Community members contributed to a permanent art installation, painting inspiring words, images and colors on rocks to adorn the courtyard garden. These changes, along with increased accessibility from upgrades to entry doors and walkways, make the center safer for students of all ages and more useable for community gathering.

New plaza at Civic Park Community Center

Fast Facts!

• In August 2017, Arts + Rec launched a new registration system for classes, camps, and facility rentals. Customers now enjoy a more user friendly online registration experience.

• Boundary Oak Golf Course consistently scored in the 90th percentile with customer reviews. The friendly and knowledgeable staff create a wonderful experience for all patrons.

• Center for Community Arts welcomed over 800 participants to their twice yearly Family Art Days, featuring free art making and fun for all ages. Students, both new and recurring, had the opportunity to try out new artistic mediums at no charge and find their next favorite class!

• Recreation expanded the popular Movies Under the Stars program to Tice Valley Park, bringing this free, familyfriendly activity to a new neighborhood.

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Bedford Gallery tailors school tour experience to student needs In an effort to make a 2018 school tour of the exhibition Ned Kahn: Seed Vortex meaningful, enriching, and inclusive for one young visually-impaired student, the Bedford staff and volunteers developed an augmented, hands-on tour for him. New tactile objects were made and brought in, docents altered their discussion topics, and the student had a unique opportunity to explore, through touch, the underside of the sculpture Seed Vortex under the guidance of Bedford Gallery staff. The gallery received very positive feedback on this customized experience from the teacher on behalf of the student and his parents. This year, over 3,000 students had an opportunity to take a docent led tour of the gallery.

Boundary Oak GOLF COURSE provides for golfers of all abilities Boundary Oak Golf Course continues to be at the forefront of providing service to golf patrons of all abilities and serves as a model program for courses nationwide.

A new Paramobile golf cart is now available to Boundary Oak patrons, offering unequalled stability when the golfer is hitting the ball that enables performance comparable to those of non-handicapped players. The Paramobile cart allows physically limited players to experience the therapeutic benefits of the golf game, and has been very well received by many, including disabled veterans in our community.

Safety is the number one priority for Aquatics staff Walnut Creek Aquatics staff spend over 70 hours annually training to be better prepared to respond to an aquatic related emergency. With over 300,000 combined users at Walnut Creek’s two swim centers each year, continual safety training is a top priority. This summer, Advanced Medical Professionals from Contra Costa Fire District/ ARM provided lifeguards with hands on training and insight from paramedics on the “hand off” process when fire and ambulance personnel arrive on scene to take over a medical situation. Lifeguards now have increased confidence in handling emergency scenarios and were praised by the paramedics for their professionalism and preparedness to respond to any patron’s safety needs.

Photos from top: Seed Vortex school tour, 2018; Paramobile cart; Lifeguard training 7

Collaboration Walnut Creek nonprofit arts community contribute $41.5 million in economic impact The Lesher Center for the Arts, opened in 1990, hosts over 800 events and welcomes 300,000 guests each year. Through partnerships with local producers like California Symphony, Contra Costa Musical Theatre, Diablo Ballet, Fantasy Forum Actors Ensemble, Feinstein’s, Smuin Ballet, and many others the Lesher Center for the Arts draws audience members from across the region to downtown Walnut Creek.

Results from the national Arts & Economic Prosperity 5 study, conducted by Americans for the Arts, show that nonprofit arts and culture organizations in Walnut Creek generate $41.5 million in annual economic activity. This includes spending by arts organizations for goods and services, and event related spending by audiences for dinner at local restaurants, parking, souvenirs, and child care costs. In Walnut Creek, cultural attendees spent an average of $31.90 per person as a direct result of their attendance at an arts event, in addition to the cost of admission. The Lesher Center for the Arts, Bedford Gallery and Center for Community Arts, in partnership with the many nonprofit arts organizations, are a key contributor to the Walnut Creek economy and the success of local businesses. Walnut Creek’s investment in the arts is truly an investment in our City’s success!

Community Arts program engages homeless in art making and healing A new partnership between the Trinity Center, a non-residential program serving homeless and working poor adult men and women in Walnut Creek, and Center for Community Arts brought a range of arts workshops to Trinity community members in 2017. Funded by a grant from the Walnut Creek Civic Pride Foundation with partner Community Arts Foundation, participants engaged in music, creative writing, mixed media, and photography as empowering ways to tell their personal stories. The workshops culminated with Community Arts teaching artists conducting interviews and a photography session with each participant, creating a public exhibition that captured each individual’s personality, beauty, and humanity. This fruitful partnership between Trinity Center and Community Arts has brought art making to community members who may not have had an opportunity previously to create work and given Trinity Center staff a deeper understanding of the individuals they serve.

Recreation partnerships deliver opportunities for all ages Walnut Creek Recreation has a long history of partnering with community organizations to ensure opportunities for all ages. At Civic Park Community Center, a partnership with Meals on Wheels Diablo Region provides nutrition programs and care management counseling for seniors, and a wide variety of other services are provided by partners such as AARP and Contra Costa County’s Aging Services. Long standing field rental relationships with Walnut Creek Soccer Club, Walnut Creek Little League, and Walnut Creek Adult Softball Association, among many other local sports organizations, give players of all ages access to playing time throughout the city. And in 2018, the Specialized Recreation program started a partnership with the Regional Center of the East Bay to offer out-of-home respite services to the special needs population, allowing for more participants to access our Specialized Recreation Summer Camp.

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Looking back 60 years to the 1958 Annual Recreation Report shows that our partnerships with Walnut Creek Youth Athletic Association and the Walnut Festival extend at least that far. And while we no longer offer charm class, dog obedience and woodworking are still wildly popular!

A SAMPLE OF OUR PARTNERS Aquatics programs develop skills and leaders Clarke Swim Center is the home base for multiple swim teams, including year round adult programs for the Walnut Creek Masters Swim Team. In addition to the swim lessons offered for students as young as six months, a partnership with the Masters Swim Team offers free swim lessons to non-swimming adults, providing access to an important skill for those who didn’t learn earlier in life.

Many Walnut Creek youth have begun their careers by taking a Walnut Creek lifeguard certification course, and gone on into public service positions such as teachers, nurses, emergency medical technicians, firefighters, police officers, physicians, and more.

Monumental public art project draws on community partners and volunteers In May 2018, the Walnut Creek community came together to help build a monumental public art installation, Sure Enough, by internationally renowned artist Patrick Dougherty in downtown Civic Park. Over 60 community members volunteered their muscle and time to construct the sculpture from nearly five tons of willow branches over three weeks. This project was funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as supported by local businesses Walnut Creek Hardware, Trader Joe’s, and Renaissance ClubSport. The piece will be on view through spring 2020.

In addition to this project, the Public Art Program developed an ambitious strategic plan that will guide the expansion of programs and projects over the next few years.

Photos: Volunteer and the finished piece of Patrick Dougherty’s Sure Enough

AARP Bellevue Arts Museum, WA Bill Bentley Productions Bridge Program Buena Vista Elementary Calicraft Brewing Co California Symphony Community Arts Foundation Contra Costa County Aging Services Contra Costa County Library Contra Costa Homeschool Group Contra Costa Jewish Community Center Contra Costa Musical Theatre Core Education Academy CourseCo Covia Creakers Softball League di Rosa Art Center for Contemporary Art Diablo Ballet Diablo Magazine Diablo Regional Arts Association Fantasy Forum Actors Ensemble Fort Smith Regional Art Museum, AR Huntsville Museum of Art, AL John Muir Health Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, MI Lifetime Activities Lindsay Wildlife Experience LPGA Girls Lyft Martinez Community Academy Meadow Homes Elementary School Meals on Wheels Diablo Region MVP Flight Neiman Marcus North Creek Academy Oak Grove Middle School Parkmead Elementary School Paulson Fontaine Press Pensacola Museum of Art, FL Renaissance ClubSport Ruth Bancroft Garden Senior Access Smuin Ballet The Coffee Shop The First Tee of Contra Costa Tice Creek School Trinity Center Walnut Creek Adult Softball Association Walnut Creek Aquabears Walnut Creek Aquanuts Walnut Creek Library Walnut Creek Little League Walnut Creek Masters Walnut Creek Seniors Club Walnut Creek Soccer Club Walnut Creek Swim Club Walnut Creek Youth Athletic Association Walnut Festival Association Yellowstone Art Museum, MT 9

INNOVATION Enhancing mobility for Walnut Creek seniors through ride sharing Walnut Creek Recreation partnered with the ride sharing app Lyft to expand its senior transportation services, becoming the first program in the Bay Area to provide free rides for people 60 and older to a wide variety of locations using a ride-hailing company. The pilot program supplements Arts + Recreation’s existing Senior Mini Bus hours, allowing members the freedom to get where they need to be within the borders of Walnut Creek. Lyft rides are free of charge for qualifying Walnut Creek Senior Club members, made possible by a generous two-year grant from TRANSPAC, the Transportation Partnership and Cooperation for Contra Costa County. Instantly popular, the program provided nearly 120 rides in the first three weeks.

Community Arts and Life Steps partnership advances inclusivity In 2017, Community Arts preschools began a partnership with Life Steps Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting children and adults with mental, developmental or physical disabilities. A Life Steps teacher supports Life Steps students in a Community Arts preschool, allowing the program to be more inclusive of students with special needs. Tremendous changes were seen in the students in a short period of time, especially for one Life Steps student with Down syndrome who was not yet walking when she joined the preschool classroom. Within weeks, teachers and her family saw that she was making great efforts to be mobile as she saw her peers walking and playing in the classroom. She was soon walking confidently on her own! Through continued partnership with Life Steps, Community Arts will advance the inclusivity of their programs in support of their mission to offer creative opportunities for all.

Galleries are made for more than art Exciting special events at the Bedford Gallery applied themes from this season’s exhibitions to other creative pursuits. Ned Kahn’s enormous metal sculpture, Seed Vortex, contained thousands of tiny, shifting mustard seeds – inspiring a craft beer and mustard-making event. Sweet n Low: An International Show of Cute featured many artistic interpretations of cuddly creatures from this earth and beyond. A partnership with educational non-profit Classroom Safari brought live animals into the gallery for invited artists and the public to interact with and draw on the spot. The exhibitions and special events engaged Bedford Gallery’s diverse audiences in cultural conversations and offered a new take on the gallery experience.

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FUN Walnut Creek Arts + Rec is committed to delivering fun for all, while having fun doing it!

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FY18 BY THE NUMBERS

770,000+ program participants Residents and Non-Residents

Arts + Rec Classes & Workshops: 56% | 44% Boundary Oak Golf Course: 60% | 40% Lesher Center Performances: 33% | 67%

60,000

1,400 Scholarships provided, valued at over

$80,000*

7,500

Volunteer hours provided by community members

rounds of golf played at Boundary Oak

Justin Wedel, Mayor Cindy Silva, Mayor Pro Tem Rich Carlston Loella Haskew Kevin Wilk

Arts Commission

Iasmine Abdennabi-Klauber Glynnis Cowdery Jane Emanuel Ann Merideth Anita Sagastegui

Parks, Recreation & Open Space Commission Jodi Davenport Robert Kearsley Brendan Moran Arthur Oller Fred Weston 12

Events produced at Lesher Center for the Arts

26,500

Rental hours in community centers, gyms, and sports fields

*Scholarship funding provided by Clay Arts Guild, Community Arts Foundation, Diablo Regional Arts Association, and many generous individual donors.

LEADERSHIP City Council

800

City Manager Dan Buckshi

Arts + Recreation Department Leadership

Kevin Safine, Director Jim Carlson, Program Manager, Recreation Sports, Camps & Facilities Scott Denison, General Manager, Lesher Center for the Arts & Center REP Jacquelyn Harbert, Business Manager Karen Heaston Martin, Program Supervisor, Aquatics Carolyn Jackson, Community Relations Manager Carrie Lederer, Curator of Exhibitions & Programs, Bedford Gallery Adriane Lee Bird, Program Manager, Recreation Classes & Social Services Maile Ogasawara, Program Manager, Center for Community Arts

Arts + RECREATION STAFF

55 Full-time equivalent staff 369 Hourly staff during peak summer season

Financial Results FY18 Arts + REc Program FUNDING: $17M*

FY18 Arts + REc Program EXPENDITURES: $17M* Arts + Rec Admin 5%

General Fund (Taxes) 33%

Bedford Gallery 5%

Public Art 2% Lesher Center for the Arts 21%

Aquatics, Tennis & Event Rentals 10%

Recreation Classes & Social Services 11% Arts + Rec Program Revenue 67%

Center for Community Arts 18%

Sports, Camps & Facility Rentals 13%

Center REP 15%

*Excludes Boundary Oak Golf Course Revenue and Expenditures

The financial story General Fund support for Arts + Rec programs: • All Arts + Rec programs, except the Golf Course, are part of the City’s General Fund. The General Fund is comprised of revenues generated from user fees, sales tax, property tax and other taxes.

• Revenue from user fees account for 67% of the Arts + Rec programs’ funding. The General Fund contributes the remaining 33%.

• The General Fund’s investment generates big returns for the quality of life of Walnut Creek residents!

About the Boundary Oak Golf Course: • Boundary Oak is a self-supporting enterprise. No tax revenue is used to fund the Golf Course.

• Revenue from golf operations (e.g., rounds played, carts rentals, driving range) and food and beverage services fund Boundary Oak’s expenses including improvements, debt service, City oversight and annual contributions to reserves.

• The championship caliber Boundary Oak Golf Course is a top performer within the highly competitive Bay Area golf market!

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COMING IN 2018-2019 •

New public art installations, including Intersect in Red, a 50-foot-high painted steel sculpture by artist Shayne Dark on the corner of Ygnacio Valley Road at the 680/24 freeway off-ramp. A new public/private mural program will kick off with a mural on the Lesher Center for the Arts - look for more murals coming to buildings throughout the City as the program expands!

•

New programs from Recreation’s Social Services division: a caregiver resource fair, Market Days offering fresh produce at wholesale prices, expanded programming for the special needs population, and a book delivery program for homebound seniors.

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Construction of one new lesson-size tennis court and two new pickleball courts at the Heather Farm Tennis Center.

•

Boundary Oak Golf Course celebrates its 50th Anniversary with a weeklong celebration in summer of 2019. The remodeled Golfer’s Grille will also be unveiled.

•

Expansion of Community Arts outreach programs through offsite community workshops, after school programs in local schools, and addition of community events such as Arts After Dark and Saturday Family Workshops.

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The smash hit BLOW UP exhibition (funded by the National Endowment for the Arts) from Bedford Gallery’s 2015 season inspires BLOW UP II. The summer 2019 exhibition of inflatable art will feature large-scale artworks by a roster of internationally renowned artists not before seen at the Bedford. After its debut at the Bedford Gallery, BLOW UP II will travel nationally.

•

Center REP’s 51st season includes the fabulous musical Mamma Mia!, time-travel thriller Communicating Doors, and Woody Sez, a musical portrait of the life and music of Woody Guthrie.

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Launch of Your Parks, Your Future, a 2-year process to shape the future of Arts + Rec programs, Civic Park, Heather Farm Park, and our community facilities (Heather Farm Community Center, Clarke Swim Center, Civic Park Community Center, and Shadelands Art Center). The multi-phase planning project will ensure these parks, community facilities, and programs best serve the community well into the future. Visit walnut-creek.org/yourparks to learn how you can get involved.

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Photo: Artist Shayne Dark with sculpture Intersect in Red, 2018

CONNECT WITH US playboundaryoak.com 925-934-4775 @playboundaryoak Boundary Oak Golf Course

communityarts.org 925-943-5846 @CommunityArtsWC

bedfordgallery.org 925-295-1417

@CommunityArtsWC

@BedfordGallery

@CommunityArtsWC

@BedfordGallery @BedfordGallery

lesherartscenter.org 925-943-7469 @LesherCenter @Lesher Center

centerrep.org 925-943-7469 @CenterREP @CenterREP

walnutcreekrec.org Registrations: 925-943-5858 Aquatics: 925-943-5856 Facility Rentals: 925-256-3575 @WalnutCreekRec @WalnutCreekRec

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Walnut Creek Arts + Recreation • Bedford Gallery • Boundary Oak Golf Course • Center for Community Arts • Center REPertory Company • Lesher Center for the Arts • Walnut Creek Aquatics • Walnut Creek Recreation Learn more at WalnutCreekArtsRec.org