About Pops

The East Sacramento Pops in the Park started in 1991, with an afternoon concert. In 1995, Councilmember Steve Cohn transformed Pops in the Park into a series of evening concerts. Cohn also saw an opportunity to raise money for our under-funded neighborhood parks while bringing free, quality entertainment to the community. Sponsorship and advertising dollars, as well as proceeds from the sale of food and beverages at the events, have been used since 1995 to fund the events, enhance our neighborhood parks, bring improvements to the neighborhood and provide youth athletic scholarships.

Past projects supported by Pops also include: youth athletic scholarships for River Park and East Sac baseball and soccer leagues, the M Street Plaza Fountain located at 48th and M Streets, the Glenn Hall tennis court resurfacing project, a new slide at Glenn Hall Pool, decorative fencing at the Clunie pool and a seat wall built between the two pools, historic acorn streetlights around the perimeter of McKinley Park, the McKinley Village Playground, reconstruction of the McKinley Park Pond and Sutter's Fort Pond, reconstruction of the McKinley Park tennis courts, expansion of the McKinley Park jog trail into the panhandle, installation of the East Sacramento Room (Clunie Community Center), reconstruction of the wading pools at Bertha Henschel Park and McKinley Park, handicapped accessible drinking fountains at McKinley Park and East Portal Park, construction of new playgrounds at East Portal Park, Glenn Hall Park, Caleb Greenwood School and Theodore Judah School, rehabilitation of Winn Park, construction of the Yermol Memorial Fountain at Carlson Drive, and extended hours at the Bertha Henschel Wading Pool.

With the tough economy in 2009 came cuts in City services, including reduced hours and even elimination of recreation swim hours at many city pools. However, through a $4000 grant from Pops in the Park and a concerted effort by neighborhood and business associations, local businesses and individuals, we were able to raise enough funding to restore most of the pool hours at Glenn Hall and Bertha Henschel pools and some hours at Clunie Pool in McKinley Park until the end of the pool season. Also, in 2009, Pops in the Park partnered with our neighborhood and business associations to install seven “Welcome to East Sacramento” signs at key entry points to the neighborhood.