Keep the Trapeze

On a warm Saturday afternoon at Plaza de Vera Cruz, the soundtrack is unmistakable — the thwack of hands gripping a bar, a brief, breathless silence, and then laughter as someone swings out over a downtown Santa Barbara park that not long ago most families wouldn't dare enter. That transformation is now at risk, and residents are making their voices heard.

In a letter published July 11 by the Santa Barbara Independent, Santa Barbara resident Kate Silverman urged the City Council to renew the operating agreement that allows Santa Barbara Trapeze Co. to run its programs at the park. "Both of my daughters participate in the trapeze programs at the park, and they love it," Silverman wrote, adding that the program "generates revenue for the city" and draws spectators and participants of all ages. Her message was simple and direct: the trapeze is an asset, and it should stay.

But the clock is already ticking. The Santa Barbara News-Press reported in late June that the city's Parks and Recreation Department has decided not to renew Santa Barbara Trapeze Co.'s lease beyond April 2027, citing plans to return the park to free, open public use. Silverman's letter is part of a growing chorus of community members asking the City Council to reconsider.

From 'Needle Park' to the Sky

To understand what's at stake, you have to know where Plaza de Vera Cruz has been. The 1.5-acre park near Haley and Cota Streets is, according to Santa Barbara Trapeze Co.'s website, one of the oldest public parks in Santa Barbara, designated as such in 1855. But its long history doesn't shield it from a darker chapter.

In 2018, a 4-year-old boy was pricked by a discarded hypodermic needle he found on the park's play structure. Noozhawk reported that the child had to undergo a series of drug treatments to prevent HIV and hepatitis, and the incident sparked local outrage — cementing the park's grim nickname, "needle park." The playground was subsequently removed, and city Parks & Recreation Director Jill Zachary announced plans to revitalize the space.

The solution that emerged was unconventional. In 2021, the Parks and Recreation Department partnered with Santa Barbara Trapeze Co. to introduce new programming at the park. The company, which had previously operated at Earl Warren Showgrounds, relocated to the downtown site and quickly became a fixture of the neighborhood. Noozhawk reported that co-owner Randy Kohn called the park "stunning" and "right in the center of downtown" when announcing the move.

The arrangement worked. The homeless encampments that had long discouraged families dispersed. The fencing installed for the trapeze equipment also created a safer perimeter. By the time the Parks and Recreation Commission voted unanimously in March 2022 to support a longer-term contract, Commissioner Beebe Longstreet said she was simply glad to see the area "returned for positive use to the public."

Five Years of Flight — and Community

Santa Barbara Trapeze Co. — co-founded by Randy Kohn and Shane Weaver — offers flying trapeze, aerial silks, parkour, trampoline, and acrobatics for all ages and skill levels. No experience is required. The company has partnered with local organizations including Casa Pacifica, Unity Shoppe, and the SB Chamber of Commerce, and has hosted free community events with nonprofits like LEAP and Unite to Light, according to the Santa Barbara Independent.

The financial arrangement has benefited the city as well. Under the lease, Santa Barbara Trapeze pays the city a percentage of its monthly gross revenue and also assists with park maintenance. As of an early 2022 report, the company had already contributed roughly $9,765 in net revenue to the city, plus an additional $17,503 for contracted landscape maintenance — funds that allowed the Parks Division to reallocate staff resources to other city parks. Santa Barbara Trapeze has also given away more than $100,000 in raffle tickets and scholarships to community members over the years, according to Kohn.

Kohn has been candid about what the park means to him and his customers. "More people have used this park for five years than in the last 30," he told the News-Press in June. The park sits next to a bus stop, he noted, making it accessible to families across the city who don't own cars. "We have so many people that come in from out of town from LA and from all over the country," Kohn said, adding that proposed relocation sites — including a downtown parking structure and a spot near Santa Barbara Airport — would isolate much of the existing clientele.

The City's Case for Change

Despite the program's visible success, the Parks and Recreation Department has signaled it is time for the next chapter. According to the News-Press, the department's position is that it wants to make Vera Cruz Park "free and open to the public" as part of a broader Parks and Recreation Master Plan — a community-driven process that gathers resident feedback to guide improvements across city parks. Officials have also mentioned plans to hold free summer camp programs at the site in the future.

The fencing question is a real one. Parks and Recreation Director Jill Zachary has said the city does not plan to remove the perimeter fencing, which was installed in part to protect children from nearby traffic on Haley and Cota Streets — a design consideration that will outlast the trapeze program. Currently, about 60% of the park is occupied by trapeze equipment and programs, with the rest open for general public use during park hours.

Kohn has expressed frustration with the decision, but also gratitude. "I totally understand that it was always just a temporary setup," he told the News-Press. "But when you do everything right in a business relationship, my thought would be that we would at least get an extension."

'An Asset to Our Community'

For families like Kate Silverman's, the policy debate is personal. Two daughters who have learned to fly. A park they feel safe in. A neighborhood activity that is genuinely hard to find anywhere else on the Central Coast.

Silverman's letter echoes what many Santa Barbarans saw happen in real time: a troubled park reclaimed, step by step, by something joyful. The before-and-after of Plaza de Vera Cruz — from syringe-strewn playground to aerial arts hub — is one of the more remarkable urban turnaround stories in recent local memory.

The current agreement runs through Spring 2027, giving the City Council a window to weigh the community's wishes before any final transition takes place. Whether that window opens to a new deal or closes on an era of flight above downtown Santa Barbara may depend, in part, on how many residents choose to speak up — the way one mother from Santa Barbara already did.