by Alisa Driscoll (MA ’19)
Vice President of Community Relations,
Chapman University

Dear Town & Gown Members:

I hope each of you are doing well. It’s my pleasure to bring you news from our local community.

On March 14th, Chapman University was honored by the City Council for our long-standing sponsorship of city events. Chapman is proud to be an Orange Tree Partner of the City’s community service department. Through our sponsorship, the University supports events like the 3rd of July, Treats in the Streets, and the Holiday Chorale and Tree Lighting.

In other news, Community Relations was proud to sponsor the men’s water polo team with a Community Involvement Grant. The team’s service project was to do a park cleanup at Hart Park in the City of Orange. In total, they filled up eight bags of trash during their service project. We love to see Panthers doing good in the community!

As always, here are few events I am looking forward to in the coming months:

The Orange May Parade on Saturday, May 6th

Some folks may remember that the Orange May Parade was originally called the May Festival Parade and was a fixture in the City of Orange from 1933 until its last march down Chapman Avenue in 1991. Originally, the parade marked the beginning of the Valencia orange packing season. Thousands of spectators lined the parade route to cheer on participants such as local schools, churches, businesses, and philanthropic organizations, instilling a sense of community and civic pride.

Revived in 2019 by the Orange Chamber of Commerce, this year’s theme is “Peace, Love, Orange.” We’ve pulled together another impressive entry to demonstrate just how invested Chapman is in our beautiful City. Participants include Public Safety and Fire and Life Safety, Pete the Panther, Alumni Engagement and yes—even the ever-famous Robot Dog from the Fowler School of Engineering, who will walk the parade route with his student handlers. It’s sure to be a groovy time for all and we hope to see you along the route. Visit www.orangemayparade.com for details.

3rd of July Celebration on Monday, July 3rd

The City of Orange’s signature Americana event, the 3rd of July, will take place from 4pm to 9pm at Grijalva Park. Community members can enjoy food and entertainment in the afternoon and end the evening with a spectacular fireworks display. If you plan on attending, please make sure to find our booth and say hello. It’s always lovely to see a friendly face!

Please feel free to reach the Office of Community Relations at any time by emailing neighbors@chapman.edu. You can also visit us at www.neighborsofchapman.com and follow us on Facebook @ChapmanUCommunity and Instagram @ChapmanCommunityRelations.