Planning an Event at The Japanese Garden
Reserving the Japanese Garden for your event just became that much easier. Omar Navidad, the new Events Specialist at the Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden is here to streamline the process for booking any School/Department event.
“We can basically host any kind of event,” Navidad said. “We want to bring back [the Japanese Garden] as an event space to where it was a decade ago and pre-pandemic with weekly events on the calendar.”
It is common knowledge that, whether it be a wedding, celebration of life event, baby shower, or school tour, the Japanese Garden has always been the perfect, picturesque spot to host any community or family event. But what you may not know is that the Japanese Garden has played host to many campus events over the years as well. Navidad notes that the Japanese Garden is available for any university event, even if it’s just a particular class wanting to take a tour of the Garden. For example, to further encourage experiential learning, professors will often book the space for a lecture, or host their laboratory classes, such as biology, chemistry, and art to use the Garden as a blue sky classroom.
Navidad comes to the Japanese Garden with 10 years’ worth of experience in planning events, specifically weddings. He said that he would like the Japanese Garden to also play a role in connecting university alumni. As a side note, at the CHHS Beach 2030 Strategic Planning Check-In earlier this semester, there was a robust conversation about bolstering alumni engagement under the college’s strategic plan.
“I hear from a lot of people connected with the university that they’ve never been to the Japanese Garden. We definitely want to change that, and make sure everyone has the opportunity to view and enjoy the Garden.”
As of now, the Japanese Garden requires reservations because their hours vary due to staff availability and to host special events. So make a reservation on their app or give them a call at 562-985-8420 to confirm the Garden will be open when you want to visit.
This semester, students, staff and faculty can unwind at the Japanese Garden by participating in one of multiple ongoing events there. For example, ‘Zen Yoga at The Garden’ which returns February 12 and continues every Wednesday and Friday at noon. Visit the Japanese Garden every third Thursday of the month for ‘Art Days at the Garden’ where for just $2 participants can engage and foster creativity through various arts and crafts.
For inquiries reserving the Japanese Garden for an event, contact Omar Navidad at Omar.Navidad@csulb.edu
To learn more about the Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden, housed under the College of Health and Human Services, visit the Japanese Garden website.
