May 12, 2022
Newsletter-HeaderfUDGE

Community Update
By Chris Parman, Communication & Events Manager

Chris being Interviewed
Back in July 2014, the City of Cathedral City offered me a two-year contract for a new position entitled, Communications and Events Manager. It was considered a temporary position with no assurances that it would be renewed or extended. Needless to say, eight years later, I am still serving in this capacity… for at least a few more weeks. It is with great excitement and sadness, swirled together, to say that I am leaving my position at the end of the month, and this will most likely be my last newsletter update.

Cathedral City, you have been a wonderful community to get to know better and I thank you for this amazing opportunity to see you flourish. It is astonishing to think of all the major communication changes that have happened over these past eight years including the advent of this weekly newsletter, making this edition, number 343. When I started, the city had 232 Facebook followers on its page, now there are over 10,000 followers. It was my goal to expand our social media presence and we did so through Nextdoor.com, YouTube, Twitter, and most recently, Instagram (Yes, I know about TikTok, but I will leave that to the next person). Kevin Lockwood, webmaster and graphic artist for Cathedral City, and I worked to establish the DiscoverCathedralCity.com website to provide news and event information to the residents. I also did my best to incorporate more stories and promos using digital storytelling along with CCTV Host Conrad Angel Corral. We highlighted new businesses in town, various departments and programs, and most of the events. During the early stage of the COVID-19 crisis, Conrad and I filmed a segment with the CV Mask Makers. They were a group of volunteers that made tens of thousands of face masks and protective gear for our local doctors and nurses. Through our video, we helped recruit enough volunteers to reach the group’s goals as the video received over 10,000 views on YouTube and just as many on Facebook.

Back in 2014, I think those who lived outside of town considered Cathedral City a place to drive through on your way to neighboring cities, but now, it’s a destination. One of the first plans was to involve the community to create civic pride through special events. And boy, did we ever do that! We have created, produced, sponsored, or held so many special events over the past eight years including our own signature events; the Cathedral City Hot Air Balloon Festival and Food Truck Fiesta, Taste of Jalisco Festival, and Cathedral City LGBT Days. These events have proven to go further than creating civic pride, they gave the community a time to celebrate and connect, while at the same time, bring in tourists to further support local businesses. When we started the Balloon Festival, we had a few thousand people attend with fifteen balloons. This past year, we had over 25,000 people attend and had over thirty hot air balloons. This November looks to be the festival’s best ever thanks to a GPS grant from Visit Greater Palm Springs as we are going to have at least a dozen special shape hot air balloons floating in the desert sky. It is going to be truly amazing!

As much excitement and the number of tourists those larger events brought to our city, it was the smaller community events that inspired me the most, such as Halloween Spooktacular, North Pole Village, and Easter Kidapalooza. Seeing the families share lifetime memories trick or treating in front of the Civic Center or scooping up as many Easter eggs as one can get at Town Square Park are the moments that make the time and effort of this position meaningful. I have a picture hanging in my office that Photographer Peter Palladino took during our first Easter Egg Hunt at LGBT Days, it shows the kids having the time of their lives picking up colorful eggs. Anytime I would end one event exhausted and heading into the next event, I would look at that picture and say, “I can’t let the kids down. I can’t let the community down. Keep going!”

Another great advantage to the special events was economic development of our downtown. It was the Cathedral City Hot Air Balloon Festival that proved that people from all over the Coachella Valley would come to Downtown Cathedral City. That proof was enough for a prominent board member of CVRep to start looking at the former Desert Cinemas theater to turn it into the magnificent playhouse that it is today.

As many of you know, when I started back in 2014, the downtown was mostly vacant lots, vacant store fronts, and dilapidated buildings. Now, those vacant lots are filling in and new businesses are occupying the store fronts. In fact, it is these remarkable changes in the Downtown Arts & Entertainment District that has been such a pleasure to witness. It took significant time in planning and lots of capital.

The City invested first in the downtown by creating the Festival Lawn and installing the new electronic message board adjacent to it. They refurbished the Fountain of Life, the Civic Center’s exterior, downtown roads, parking lots, solar panels, charging stations, and built the new Cathedral City Community Amphitheater. The new amphitheater is simply a magical place that so many groups are discovering. The fall line-up is already impressive with a boxing tournament, Tejano Music Fest, the Palm Springs Women’s International Jazz Festival, and the Cathedral City Hot Air Balloon Festival and Food Truck Fiesta.

Other groups invested as well with the refurbishment of the Mary Pickford Theatre and its massive solar project that takes them virtually off the grid. Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians turned a blighted area into a beautiful entertainment venue that offers gaming, dining, lounging, and LIVE performances from their own outdoor Terraza. In addition, we see the smaller store fronts fill-in with restaurants and lounges including the new Salt Flats Restaurant, Luchador Brewing Company, Monster Shakes, Pollo Dokys, AMP Sports Lounge, and the ever-expanding Roost Lounge.

All these investments have made Cathedral City’s downtown the place to be whether it’s a Wednesday or a weekend. There is life all around the downtown area and that was the plan that was put in place by Team 2014.

These improvements do not happen without great leaders at the top. It has been a pleasure to watch Cathedral City Councilmembers work every day with your best interest in mind. They may not always agree with each other, and you might not always agree with them on an issue, but I can say they are hardworking, committed, and give their time to the best of their ability.

In addition, you must also have a good city manager and Cathedral City definitely has a fantastic city manager! Charlie McClendon is the best hire this city has ever made. He embodies vision, diplomacy, and a work etiquette beyond almost all. I have worked closely with the city manager from my first day and he is a man of integrity, experience, and intelligence. I’m always amazed that he can remember almost every detail on any decision ever made during his tenure. When you have a great boss, you always try to outperform your last efforts, and Charlie energizes you to do just that. Charlie, it has been a pleasure serving under your leadership!

Beyond the top leadership, you also need great coworkers. I have never worked in an organization before where everyone worked as a team, and in my position, I interacted with all the departments. The employees embraced me from the start and said how I can I help. I want to wholeheartedly thank the public works, facilities, police, fire and finance departments for everything they did to make sure our residents enjoyed the events in a friendly and safe manner. Not to jinx anything, but in the eight years with the city, not once did we have a serious incident at any of our events. We can thank the city team for their planning and implementation. Additionally, a special thank you to Kevin Lockwood for his support with web building and graphic design. He's the one who creates all of our fantastic posters and print collateral.

Of course, I cannot forget all the hundreds of volunteers that have stood by me during the events to assist. There are too many to recognize individually in a newsletter article, but you know who you are, and I cannot thank you enough! The love that each of you have for this city and its residents is unparallel. I cannot wait to be by your side in the near future as a volunteer too!

Although it is never easy to leave a position, I am confident that I am leaving the City in good hands with my replacement. Her name is Lisa Luna and she comes to the city with vast experience in the hospitality industry and a background putting on large and small events. Most recently, she has served as the Director of Marketing for the Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Resort and Spa and previously for the Omni Rancho Las Palmas Resort & Spa. She has a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Public Relations and is fluent in Spanish. She knows digital marketing, social media, public relations, advertising, and media buying. On a personal level, she comes across as confident, kind, and quite comfortable in her own skin. She radiates boldness and is going to be a tremendous asset for our residents. I look forward to providing as much information as I can in a short period of time to assist her in the transition.

So, what’s next for me? My husband retired a little more than a year ago. We are going to spend the next year traveling and reconnecting with friends and family. Most importantly, he has decided to run for a public office this November that mirrors his professional experience. I am planning to help in his endeavor that is all about helping the next generation to not only succeed, but like Cathedral City, flourish too.

COVID 19 Information

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News

Neighborhood Meet-Up and State Parks Filming Occurred at Ocotillo Park

Councilmember Nancy Ross organized two Ocotillo Park Neighborhood Meet-Ups over the past few weeks with the last one occurring this past Saturday, May 7th. Neighbors were able to hear from representatives from the Coachella Valley Water District as well as Cathedral City police, fire, and city administration on a variety of topics that included: Installation of Sewer Service Desert …Read more
Neighborhood Meet-Up and State Parks Filming Occurred at Ocotillo Park

Photos of the Week

Photos from the California Association of Building Officials Event at the Amphitheater Park
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Events

Grand Opening of the Panorama Dog Park

Join the City Council and the Parks and Community Events Commission as they conduct a ribbon-cutting for the Grand Opening of the Panorama Dog Park on Friday, May 13th starting at 9 am. The dog park is located on the east side of Panorama Park located at 28905 Avenida Maravilla in Cathedral City. The new dog park will … Read more
Grand Opening of the Panorama Dog Park

First Fridays Art Walk on Perez Road

Looking for an opportunity to walk and view some amazing art at the same time? Then come to First Fridays Art Walk on Perez Road from 5 pm to 8 pm. The row of art galleries are located at 68845 & 68895 Perez Road in the “H” and “I” ... Read more
artwalkend

2022 State of the City

The Greater Coachella Valley Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the City of Cathedral City, invites you to attend the 2022 Annual State of the City Event and Business Expo. This year’s event features a three-part moderated discussion between Mayor Ernesto M. Gutierrez and select local leaders, in discussion over business and community development within the City of … Read more
2022 State of the City Happens Thursday, May 19th

Tejano Music Festival

Tejano PowerHouse Entertainment, City of Cathedral City and Diaz Enterprises invites you to the rescheduled 4th annual Tejano Music Fest in Cathedral City featuring the best Tejano music, fiesta food and spirits on Saturday, October 29, 2022 from 5 pm to 10 pm at our new location, the Cathedral City Community Amphitheater, 68526 Avenida Lalo Guerrero, in Cathedral City, California. … Read more
Tejano Music Festival

Halloween Spooktacular

Cathedral City’s Halloween Spooktacular features trick or treating with over 40,000 pieces of candy! Join friends, neighbors, and family for a Spooktacular time including activities such as Halloween costume contests (two bikes given away each hour), police and fire exhibitions, music, and family games. Halloween Spooktacular provides you with information about the police and fire departments, to view special … Read more
Halloween Spooktacular

Job Openings

ASSISTANT/ASSOCIATE PLANNER New

  • FULL-TIME EMPLOYEE - $36.64 - $47.96 Hourly
  • Department: PLANNING
Now Hiring
To view current job opportunities, apply for a position, or submit an interest card, please visit joincathedralcity.org
For Questions or Comments, Contact Chris Parman, Communications and Events Manager
cparman@cathedralcity.gov
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