Community Involvement

Winter Wonderland: Family Night at PVSP

PVSP Family night with kids sitting in a staff area of a prison bus.
A special seat for a young visitor during the PVSP Family Night.

Pleasant Valley State Prison (PVSP) hosted the Family Night Winter Wonderland festival for family and friends on Dec. 2.

The chilly evening started with friends and family checking in with PVSP volunteer staff and grabbing a hot cup of cocoa with an abundant supply of desserts.

The prison parking lot was used to display:

  • Transportation Unit Bus
  • PVSP Fire Truck
  • California Highway Patrol (CHP) K-9 Unit
  • Investigative Services Unit (ISU)
  • Crisis Response Team
  • Day-to-day occupational equipment in its detail.

A variety of food trucks were available for guests with food options ranging from Japanese to tacos and burgers.

PVSP Administrators took family members on specific site tours to experience where they perform daily work duties.

During the tour, PVSP and Avenal State Prison (ASP) CRT demonstrated their skills for guests. The event ended with warm cinnamon rolls and door prizes.

“This event was created with our PVSP families in mind and to provide them with visual of their loved ones day-to-day duties. The experience of walking that line and going behind the barb wire into a prison setting gives an understanding of what their relative does on a day to day basis. We had such a great turnout and everything turned out amazing,” said acting Warden Tristan Lemon.

Submitted by Lt. C. Mendoza


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