By Lookout Staff

April 23, 2026 -- The great park funded by Santa Monica residents 100 years ago is finally taking shape, and the group behind the effort is inviting residents to a free picnic Saturday.

Hosted by the Great Park Coalition, the picnic takes place from noon to 2:30 p.m. and offers free hot dogs, cold drinks and cupcakes, as well as fun, family friendly activities.

Original great park golf course in 1934 (UCLA Archives)

The activities include face painting, arts and sports, a pollinator-attracting plant giveaway and a “Dogs of the Great Park” photo spot, organizers said. For info and to RSVP click here.

The event celebrates the centennial of an $860,000 parks bond (the equivalent of $16 million today) that local voters overwhelmingly approved on April 14, 1926 to acquire land for Santa Monica's first great park.

The City purchased the land and built a park with a golf course, tennis courts, skeet shooting, lawn bowling, and other public uses.

But the land became privatized with the onset of World War II and the development of the Douglas Aircraft plant, at the time one of the largest factories in the world.

Efforts to close the airport that included litigation with the Federal Aviation Administration led to a landmark agreement in January 2017 to shutter the airport by the end of 2028.

A century after the 1926 bond was passed, the City is now engaged in a planning process to replace the airport with "a reborn Great Park," pursuant to Measure LC, approved by Santa Monica voters in 2014.

“The approximately 30,000 residents of Santa Monica voted in 1926 to tax themselves the equivalent today of $16 million to acquire a priceless legacy for future generations -- land for a Great Park,” said Coalition Chair John Fairweather.

“We at the GPC cannot think of a better way to celebrate their vision than by holding a joyful picnic in Clover Park, on land reclaimed by Santa Monica after the Douglas plant closed and reimagined as lasting green space for the community.”