Citrus Heights is once again throwing open the gates at Van Maren Park for free live music, food trucks and a ticketed beer and wine garden, with the first of two Citrus Nights concerts set for August 21 and a second following on September 18. Both evenings run from 6 to 9 p.m. at 6601 Thalia Way, and the city is encouraging guests not to show up before 5 p.m.
The August 21 show will feature Mercy Me! Band, a six-piece Sacramento-area R&B, funk and soul group that has been performing since 1994 and previously won a Sacramento Music Award for cover band performance, according to background compiled by the Chico News & Review. The band has spent three decades headlining civic concert series, public parks and regional festivals across Northern California. September's headliner is Moonshine Crazy, a Sacramento-based country-rock band formed in 2015 that won a SAMMIES award for Best Cover Band in 2019 and played the 2024 GoldenSky Music Festival, according to the band's own website. Led by vocalist Jessica Spaid, the group has opened for national country acts including Lonestar and Luke Bryan.
What's on the Schedule Each Night
According to the order of events shared by the city, food trucks, the beer and wine garden, and a 360 photobooth all open at 6 p.m., with live music kicking off an hour later at 7 p.m. Everything, including the music, wraps up at 9 p.m. Food trucks lined up for Citrus Nights include The Fry Boys, Dubbs Lunch Boxx, Drewski's Hot Rod Kitchen, The Mini Donut Shack and Santacos.
Citrus Nights itself is free to attend, though food, drinks and some features can be purchased on-site, according to the City of Citrus Heights. The series debuted in summer 2025 as a free outdoor concert program created by the city to bring residents together, and this fall marks its second annual season, per the Citrus Heights Sentinel. City officials launched the series as part of a broader push to expand free community gatherings in public parks.
A Ticketed Beer and Wine Garden
For adults who want more than lemonade, the Citrus Heights Chamber of Commerce is hosting a ticketed Beer & Wine Garden restricted to guests 21 and over, featuring beer, wine and yard games. The Chamber holds the appropriate licenses to serve alcohol at the event, and Stones Gambling Hall is sponsoring the 21-plus area. The Antelope Road cardroom and restaurant complex opened in July 2014, spans 25,000 square feet and employs roughly 350 workers, per the Sentinel's coverage of the business's decade in Citrus Heights. Any alcohol purchased in the garden must stay within its enclosed boundaries, and outside alcohol is not permitted anywhere on the grounds.
Organizers have laid out a fairly standard list of park rules for the evenings. Marijuana use and smoking are barred on public property, along with open flames, grills, griddles and canopies. Guests can bring small ice chests or coolers no larger than 15 quarts, small personal umbrellas, and leashed dogs, and the city is encouraging attendees to bring blankets or low-back lawn chairs for seating.
A Voter Education Stop Ahead of November's Election
The September 18 event will carry some added civic weight, hosting a limited number of election information booths ahead of Citrus Heights' November 3 municipal election. Three City Council seats representing Districts 2, 4 and 5 are on that ballot, according to the Citrus Heights Sentinel. The city consolidated its district-based municipal elections with statewide general elections held in even-numbered years, per the City of Citrus Heights.
Van Maren Park, the site for both nights, carries its own local history. The park is named for Peter Van Maren, a 19th-century Dutch immigrant and Gold Rush pioneer who settled a 160-acre homestead along Arcade Creek in the 1850s that eventually grew into a 1,000-acre family estate, according to the Sentinel's historical feature on the family. Van Maren's children later donated land for the area's first Sylvan Schoolhouse and served on local school boards. The park also hosted the city's third annual Stars & Stripes Celebration on June 27, complete with live music, food trucks and fireworks, per the City of Citrus Heights.
Parking and Getting There
Free parking will be available at Citrus Heights City Hall, the Citrus Heights Police Department and Dignity Health lots, with limited ADA parking at City Hall. That convenience is largely a matter of geography: City Hall sits at 6360 Fountain Square Drive, right next to Van Maren Park, in a city that incorporated in 1997 and operates under a council-manager government, according to California Local.
Citrus Nights also reflects a broader pattern of investment in Citrus Heights' public and commercial gathering spaces. The city opened a dedicated Food Truck Plaza in June, complete with landscaping, outdoor dining tables, shade umbrellas and paved parking, adding to the mobile food infrastructure that supports events like this one. That momentum echoes a larger municipal push toward experiential entertainment, including the city-backed ice arena project planned for the former Sunrise Mall site, where officials approved up to $60 million in financing toward a $120 million sports complex earlier this year.
