SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Citrus Heights will celebrate 25 years since it officially became a city with a 25th Anniversary Concert Saturday.
The event will take place from 2 to 4 p.m. at City Hall in Citrus Heights. The goal of this event is to bring the community together to celebrate Citrus Heights and their community's accomplishments and establishments.
There will be a live art exhibit, food, drinks, community fun and live music by Capitol Pops Concert Band.
Capitol Pops Concert Band is a non-profit organization of volunteer musicians dedicated to performing high-quality music for the community. They also provide scholarships to local student musicians.
The COVID-19 pandemic was hard not only for the city, but also for its music programs. Rehearsals and performances were halted for two years and now Capitol Pops Concert Band members are excited to once again share their passion for music with their community.
"When they asked me to be the band director of Capitol Pops in March, I was very happy to have an experience like this," said Susan Hamre, musical director of the Capitol Pops Concert Band. "To be able to come back and be with like-minded people who just feel the need to be together and make good music, it's great."
Right now, there are about 50 to 60 band members all ranging from ages 40 to 75.
Ray Latimer, the original founder of the Capitol Pops Concert Band, mentioned how he wanted to start a band after traveling on trips to different countries and watching various musicians and groups play on a river cruise.
"Nobody was playing pops music, they were playing more traditional music and marching band music," said Latimer. "There was nobody playing the kind of music we really like, so my wife and I got together with a few musicians from the river cruise and started a band."
Now 25 years later, Capitol Pops Concert Band is still in Citrus Heights and looks forward to celebrating with their city.
"An event like this is really significant," said Meghan Huber, Citrus Heights' economic development and community engagement director. "Our future here was very unlikely. Incorporation was a long battle that started decades before our incorporation in 1997 and it really showed that our community was interested in stewarding its own future, which is why it's extra important that we celebrate these anniversary milestones."
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