State of the City

This year’s State of the City: A Celebration of Resilience and Growth event is set for Thursday, July 17, from 4-7 p.m. at Christine Emerson Reed Park and the newly reopened Miles Memorial Playhouse.

In a change from past years, this year’s event will feature an opening reception with the Mayor and incoming City Manager Oliver Chi inside the newly revived Miles Memorial Playhouse, followed by performances. Bring your own picnic and beach chair, and we’ll provide the entertainment and activities! It’s all a kickoff celebration for the community’s 150th anniversary celebration, which will last through December 2025.

RSVP here

Timeline for the event:

4-5 p.m.

• Opening reception in the Miles Memorial Playhouse with light refreshments, city information boards, and opportunities for attendees to meet and chat with Mayor Lana Negrete and new City Manager Oliver Chi

• City department and partner booths are open throughout the park offering activities for all ages and information on city initiatives and programs

5-5:30 p.m.

• Welcome remarks by Mayor Negrete and city officials

• Poem by city of Santa Monica Poet Laureate Anne Carmack

5:30-7 p.m.

• 15-minute Tours of the Historic Miles Memorial Playhouse led by Santa Monica Conservancy

Performances in Reed Park:

• Downbeat 720 is an open mic/performance lab for teens that the city of Santa Monica has sponsored since 2001. Enjoy a high-energy performance by youth artists and professional artists Joe Hernandez-Kolski, Joshua Silverstein, and DJ Jedi, who will also be our emcees for the evening.

• String Theory is a hybrid performance ensemble combining music and movement that travels the U.S. and abroad creating giant immersive musical installations, collaborating and performing.

• Performers from Los Angeles Performance Practice (LAPP) BRIDGE THE GAPS initiative, which supports artists impacted by the L.A. wildfires with space residencies at the Miles Memorial Playhouse. LAPP is a non-profit organization devoted to the production and presentation of contemporary performance by artists whose work advances and challenges multi-disciplinary artistic practices.

Also enjoy trivia, giveaways, a beer garden by Santa Monica Brew Works and more!

Getting there:

Big Blue Bus Routes 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 9, 18, 41, and Rapids 3, 7, and 10 all have stops within a 10-minute walk of Reed Park.