Redwood City hosts ‘par crawl’

While much of the Park and Recreation Department’s programming centers around family friendly opportunities, they wanted to offer something just for adults to have the chance of enjoying a Thursday evening and exploring downtown, Events Coordinator Brandon Council said. 

“We’re hoping to get people outside of Redwood City too, to have the chance to participate and see what happens downtown, what’s available food and drink,” Council said. “We picked a Thursday because there’s already plenty of people downtown Friday and the weekend, but this will get folks in restaurants that otherwise might not be.” 

The event is sponsored by Embarc, the cannabis dispensary located at 1870 Broadway, which has partnered with the Parks and Recreation Department on various events to build a relationship with the Redwood City community. The company also donates 1% back into the community.

“We try to be really good neighbors, working with downtown businesses is very important to us,” Andrea Champion, marketing and events coordinator for Embarc, said. 

Although there will be no cannabis products for sale or in use at the event, Embarc’s presence hopes to destigmatize the plant and make its staff members available for any interested people for questions, Champion said. 

“Our company, besides being community centric, we love events,” she said. 

Offering these types of events is critical for the city because many entertainment spaces and businesses have gone away in recent years, such as roller skating rinks or arcades, Council said. 

“We’re trying to fill that need for families, kids, teens,” Council said. “That’s a big priority for us, providing common spaces for these groups to participate and hang out.” 

Although a pop-up mini-golf course has taken over Courthouse Square before, the arcade games and special adult-center events are new this year. While “it’s always a question mark” when putting on a new event, Council said he expects the turnout to be great and hopes residents will want to see it return.

“We’re really excited,” Council said. “We want to make sure there’s always something new and fun in Redwood City, getting people out for fun experiences in shared experiences.”

The “par crawl” will take place from 5-10 p.m. Thursday. Tickets are available online by visiting redwood-city-par-crawl.square.site and are $20. Limited number of tickets will be available at the door.