"Our goal is to have the grand opening on June 25th, 2025, which is Kathy Cook's birthday." Sarah Hendricks told the Citrus Heights Sentinel that in February 2025. She is the manager and treasurer of the Citrus Heights Community Marching Band, and she was talking about the Kathy Cook Memorial Amphitheater planned for Rusch Community Park.
That date passed with no stage built. On Saturday, October 17, the same band will lead its annual Howl-O-Ween Parade down Grand Oaks Boulevard and into Rusch Park. When it arrives, the park will still have no amphitheater, but there will be one new thing. As of this fall, the $1.5 million project is in the Sunrise Recreation and Park District's approved capital plan.
Rusch Park's fall calendar makes the case the band has been making since 2022. The park already holds the kind of community events a permanent stage was planned for. This season, part of the park's community center is also behind construction fencing.
A Stage Planned for Months Like This One
The band started raising money for the amphitheater in July 2022 and first expected it to be finished in June 2024. The Sentinel's February 2025 report said construction had not started. Plans had been "wet stamp" approved by an architect and an engineer, and the band was waiting for the park district to put the project out to bid.
The project had a lot of public support. Between January and March 2024, people spoke for it at district board meetings, including City Manager Ash Feeney, current Mayor Jayna Karpinski-Costa, and then-Sacramento County Supervisor Sue Frost. At its March 2024 meeting, the board voted unanimously to approve a final location. The Sentinel had reported earlier that all three locations under consideration were on the park's west end. The concept then was a band shell 65 feet long and 18 feet high, with a metal roof and brick sides.
The district's March 2024 staff report described how the stage would be used. The band would hold concerts there four or five times a year. The city would use it for its Sunday Funday programming. The district would use it to put on "a more robust concert series and additional special events."
Those plans assumed Rusch Park was already a regular community gathering place. October shows how often it is.
The October Lineup at Rusch Park
These events are scheduled at Rusch Park this month. Rusch Community Park is at 7801 Auburn Boulevard and covers 49.5 acres, with softball diamonds, pickleball courts, a skate park, swimming pools, a creek, and a garden and nature area.
| Date | Event | Where in the park | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Oct. 10, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. | Floating Pumpkin Patch | Rusch Park Pool | $10 per child, includes pool entry and a pumpkin; online registration |
| Sat., Oct. 17, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. | Howl-O-Ween Parade and Car Show | Parade ends at the park; festival on site | Pet costume contest, vendor fair, car show, music |
| Fri., Oct. 23, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. | Adult Paint & Sip Night | Sunrise Patio Room, community center | Tickets sold online |
The Floating Pumpkin Patch is one of the few chances to get into Rusch Pool this time of year. The district's site lists the pool as closed for the season and reopening in 2027.
The Howl-O-Ween parade begins at 9 a.m. at the corner of Grand Oaks Boulevard and Rosswood. It heads down Grand Oaks Boulevard, turns onto Oak Forest, and ends at Rusch Park. If the amphitheater gets built, this is the band that would use it most, and this is the day of the year its route already ends at the park.
Paint & Sip on October 23 is held at the community center. It is the event most affected by this fall's construction.
Getting In While the Breezeway Is Under Construction
The park district posted that construction in the breezeway at Rusch Park Community Center would begin Monday, September 28. While the work is underway, the breezeway is closed and programs use other entrances:
- Auditorium and Dance Studio: enter through Room 1, which is easiest to reach from the back parking lot.
- Sunrise Patio Room: use a temporary entrance at the back of the building. You can reach it from either lot, but front-lot parking may be limited.
- Front office: open during regular business hours.
Every program is continuing on its regular schedule. The district asks visitors to allow extra time and follow the posted signs. Its notice gives no end date for the work, so the Paint & Sip crowd on October 23 should plan to use the rear entrance.
The breezeway work and the amphitheater come from the same budget decisions. The capital plan the district board approved this summer includes a $200,000 breezeway renovation at Rusch Park. At the same July meeting, the board awarded the breezeway roof replacement contract to Solano County Roofing.
What the $1.5 Million Covers, and What's Still Undecided
The Sentinel reported on September 26 that the district board unanimously approved 13 capital projects totaling $4 million for the next fiscal year. The Citrus Heights items include:
- The Rusch Park amphitheater, $1.5 million
- Pool renovations at the Rusch and Antelope pool complexes, $500,000 combined
- The Rusch Park breezeway renovation, $200,000
- An HVAC replacement at Rusch Park, $40,000
The amphitheater is the largest item on that list. It costs more than the other three Citrus Heights items combined. The July 29, 2026 special-meeting agenda asked the board to approve the final capital plan for fiscal year 2026–2027. It also asked for authority to start the requests for proposals and qualifications needed to hire contractors for the listed projects. For a project that was waiting on bids in early 2025, getting that authority moves it forward.
The amount is also much larger than the band's earlier fundraising goal. In February 2025, Hendricks said the band had raised $100,000 and needed $200,000 more. The $1.5 million in the district's plan is five times that $300,000 total. The available reporting doesn't explain how the band's fundraising fits into the district's budget line, or whether the 65-foot band shell design is still the plan.
The district has not announced a completion date. Its September 16, 2026 board agenda listed an update from the amphitheater ad hoc committee but gave no details about progress. The available reporting also doesn't say which west-end site the board chose in 2024. The project has already gone past two target dates: a June 2024 completion and a June 25, 2025 opening. Any new date will come from the district.
November and December at the Park
The park stays busy after Halloween, and much of the holiday schedule uses the same community center rooms that are under construction now.
The 12th Annual Arts, Crafts & Artisan Food Fair at Rusch Park Community Center runs 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The district's 2026 events calendar lists it on November 14, 2026. The text on the event page itself still says "November 14, 2025," so check with the front office before you plan your Saturday around it.
Other dates on the district's 2026 calendar:
- November 2 to December 18: the 2026 Sunrise Toy Drive collects new, unwrapped toys at the Rusch Park Community Center front office.
- Thursday, November 19: Colored Pencil Drawing Workshop in the Sunrise Patio Room.
- Friday, December 4: Sunrise Lights the Night, the district's annual tree lighting at Rusch Community Park.
- December 6: Breakfast with Santa in the Sunrise Patio Room.
Two holiday events with similar names are held elsewhere. The City Hall Annual Tree Lighting is on Thursday, December 3, at Citrus Heights City Hall. The December 19 Holiday at Hogwarts Yule Ball is at Foothill Community Center.
The Sunrise Patio Room is the right setting for a cold-weather breakfast. The district describes it as surrounded by a rose garden, a year-round stream, and a rustic bridge. Nearby is the Historic Rusch Home & Gardens. Its address is 7301 Antelope Road, and parking is off Rosswood Drive on Rusch Drive. The district says the Rusch family donated several acres in 1951 that became the park, and the home and gardens were added in 1977. The park has added facilities over 75 years. The amphitheater would be the next one, and as of this October it has a budget line but no construction date.
At Olani Properties, we track the projects that change how a neighborhood works day to day, from a new stage at Rusch Park to the finished stretch of Auburn Boulevard. If you own a home near the park and want to know how it compares in today's market, get your free home valuation and we'll walk you through it.
