Pictured: The Grand Opening of Magical Bridge Playground in Rengstorff Park, Mountain View, CA

Programs, People, and Playgrounds

Magical Bridge Foundation Spring 2025 Newsletter

Spring is here, and at Magical Bridge, we’re more committed than ever to creating inclusive spaces that bring communities together. We need your help to show just how much more our playgrounds offer than typical playgrounds —how they foster connection, learning, and kindness. By completing our brief survey, you’ll help us make a stronger case for bringing Magical Bridge to new communities. Please share the survey with your friends and family to amplify our impact. And if you think your community could benefit from a Magical Bridge, email us and we encourage you to reach out to your school board or city leadership and let them know why —it’s a great opportunity for your kids to get a taste of civic engagement! As a thank you for completing our survey, you’ll be entered to win exclusive 10-Year Anniversary merchandise, also available in our online store!

Programs

Long-time Supporter Roger Smith • Board Member Todd Parmacek, Founder Olenka Villarreal, and Palo Alto Mayor Ed Lauing • Teen Kindness Ambassadors including Lantern Night host, Joshua Kao.

CELEBRATING 10 YEARS OF MAGIC  On April 19, Magical Bridge Foundation celebrated our 10 year anniversary in Mitchell Park with an all-day event filled with live music, arts and crafts, and *actual* magic by magician Robert Strong. Palo Alto Mayor Ed Lauing and long-time supporter Roger Smith joined us along with hundreds of friends and supporters. Teen Kindness Ambassadors hosted activities throughout the day culminating in the second annual Lantern Night, hosted by Joshua Kao and PALY teens, with support from Los Altos High School Ambassadors Sophia Stavrakos, Ava Randall and many others. Thank you to these wonderful teens for also bringing Lantern Night to Magical Bridge Santa Clara the following week!

MAGICAL SERIES EVENTS Thanks to our programming partnership with the City of Palo Alto, we continue Magical Series events on and off the playground in Palo Alto throughout the Spring and Summer. So many events at our 6 Bay Area playgrounds year-around so please check our website to learn more. At Palo Alto’s Lytton Plaza at 7:00PM tonight (Friday) have some fun with the Dream Achievers band, and then mark your calendars for a Community Open Mic Night on May 17 at Lucie Stern with Palo Alto Players. 

People

We are excited to welcome back Anne Lyons Johnston to the Foundation. She has contributed to Magical Bridge both creatively and strategically over the past six years and returns in a full-time role as Chief Experience Officer to develop inclusive programs, learning tools, and meaningful experiences for all of the communities we serve. You'll see her friendly face at upcoming events and community input meetings — be sure to say hello! 

Community Kindness Curator Harriet Stern, Bells Books Owner Faith Bell, and Chief Marketing Officer Kris Loew. 

Thank you Faith Bell of the historic Bells Book Store for inviting us to decorate their downtown Palo Alto store front window to commemorate 10 Years of Magic. Swing by and pick up a book celebrating Kindness and Inclusion at 536 Emerson St, Palo Alto, CA 94301 — and download our Magical Bridge Book List from our Advocacy page. 

Playgrounds

Magical Bridge Mountain View • California Assemblymember Marc Berman addresses the crowd • Santa Clara County Supervisor Margaret Abe-Koga and Mountain View Mayor Ellen Kamei join Olenka Villarreal to cut the ribbon • Former Palo Alto Mayors Leland Levy and Karen Hollman celebrate neighboring Mountain View. 

GRAND OPENING - MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA  This past January, we celebrated the long-awaited grand opening of Magical Bridge Mountain View located in Rengstorff Park. The playground was packed with community members swinging, spinning, and sliding — and the playhouse will continue to buzz with year-round concerts and activities hosted by the Mountain View Parks and Recreation Department. 

GRAND OPENING - CESAR CHAVEZ RAVENSWOOD MIDDLE SCHOOL  Last month, this stunning East Palo Alto middle school campus opened to a rush of happy students. The campus features an inclusive playspace and sports fields for soccer, basketball, volleyball, tennis, ping pong, and more. Magical Bridge gathered early support for this project with significant contributions from The Peery Family, Acton Family, Sobrato Family Foundation, Emerson Collective, and Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Go Lions! 

Olenka is joined by very magical Daly City Project Ambassadors (left) Mai Le and (right) Joyce Cabrera, along with Daly City Councilmember Pamela DiGiovanni  • Bret, Daly City's Official Canine Ambassador

COMMUNITY INPUT — DALY CITY, HILLSIDE PARK  We are currently collecting community input for Magical Bridge Playground coming to Hillside Park in Daly City, just south of San Francisco. Join us this Saturday, May 3 from 3-4:30pm in the Hillside Clubhouse — or complete our Daly City Resident Survey here. We welcome your input and look forward to getting to know Daly City. To donate to this project and recognition on the Daly City donor wall, please contribute today. 

MORGAN AUTISM CENTER — STARRY, STARRY NIGHT GALA 2025  Join us May 10 at 5pm at the Doubletree by Hilton in San Jose for Morgan Autism Center's annual gala event to raise money for their Dream Campus 2.0, which includes expansive Magical Bridge playspaces designed specifically for students and adults with autism. Join us at the event or please donate today! 

ST FRANCIS CENTER  We are currently fundraising and gathering input for a new Magical Bridge Community "Pocket" Playground for St Francis Center in the North Oaks neighborhood of Redwood City. We welcome your support of this project which is sure to become a vital public asset for this wonderful community. 

SUPPORT MAGICAL BRIDGE

Thank you for supporting Magical Bridge Foundation as we bring inclusive, multigenerational playgrounds and programs to more communities. 

Innovating multigenerational playgrounds, parks, and programs for more inclusive communities.