First row, from left: Carson City Manager David Roberts, Councilmember and Mayor Pro Tem Cedric Hicks, Councilwoman Arleen Rojas, Mayor Lula Davis-Holmes, Councilman Dr. Jawane Hilton, Councilman Jim Dear and Michael Whittiker, Director of Parks and Recreation. Bottom row, from left: Marcus Tupuola, Team USA Rugby Sevens and Carson native; Kaylin Edwards; Olympic Gold Medalist Steve Lewis; and Adam Duvendeck, 1984 Olympic participant and General Manager of Dignity Health Sports Park.
Carson, CA — With hundreds of young people gathered at Carson Park, Olympic medals in sight and the excitement of the 2028 Games beginning to feel within reach, the City of Carson officially launched its road to LA28 with a celebration designed to connect the community’s present to its Olympic future.
On Wednesday, June 24, the City launched The Carson Experience, a citywide Olympic and Paralympic countdown initiative created to build local excitement, community pride and resident participation ahead of the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The event featured the unveiling of a nearly 700-pound Olympic countdown clock, appearances by Olympians and Team USA athletes, youth participation and Olympic-themed activities.
The celebration began with a youth parade featuring children from Carson’s Summer Day Camp, Early Childhood Center and Therapeutic Recreation programs. City leaders estimated that between 400 and 500 children participated, representing recreation programs and parks from across Carson.
For Mayor Lula Davis-Holmes, the moment was about more than preparing for a major sporting event. It was about placing Carson firmly on the global map.
“That’s huge for the city,” Davis-Holmes said. “In ’84, we had one of them. In 2028, we’re going to have five Olympic events and three Paralympic events. That is huge because it puts Carson on a global map.”
During the 2028 Games, Carson is expected to host tennis, hockey, archery, rugby sevens and cycling track competitions, along with Paralympic wheelchair tennis, para archery and para cycling track events. For a city already rich in sports history, cultural diversity and community pride, LA28 presents an opportunity to showcase Carson’s identity, infrastructure and people to an international audience.
“We’re going to have a lot of foreign countries coming here visiting,” Davis-Holmes said. “It just makes us feel good that we’re known for what we’re all about.”
The Carson Experience is expected to include future community activations, watch parties, street festivals, live entertainment, vendors and family-friendly celebrations connected to both the Olympic and Paralympic Games and Carson’s 60th anniversary.
But Wednesday’s launch centered heavily on Carson’s young people.
Davis-Holmes said the youth participation was intentional because children are the city’s future and deserve to see themselves connected to the Olympic movement.
“That is our future,” Davis-Holmes said. “We have our 500 kids that came out today, and they’re going to participate. They’ll learn about the different countries that they’re representing. They will learn how to participate in sports, and it’s teamwork that makes the dream work.”
Councilmember Cedric Hicks said the event gave Carson youth something many children only see from a distance: direct access to the Olympic dream.
“To do the kickoff for the 2028 Olympics, for all these young people that are here, it gives them a vision and a dream,” Hicks said. “It gives them something to strive for, to go for.”
Hicks said having Olympians and elite athletes present allowed the children to see, touch, and believe in something that often feels far away.
“It shows that the Olympics are coming to the City of Carson,” Hicks said. “It is providing an avenue that most people see on television and don’t know that they can touch it.”
City Councilmember Dr. Jawane Hilton said the city’s role in LA28 is also about investing in the next generation.
“Great communities don’t just celebrate champions — they create them,” Hilton said.
The launch brought together Olympic Gold Medalist Steve Lewis, Team USA Rugby Sevens athlete and Carson native Marcus Tupuola, local youth participants, LA28 representatives, and city leaders. Together, they reflected what city officials described as Carson’s Olympic past, present, and future.
Lewis, a multi-time Olympic gold medalist, represents Carson’s connection to Olympic excellence. Tupuola, who competed in the Paris Olympic Games and is expected to represent Team USA again during LA28, gives Carson a hometown connection to the world stage.
For Tupuola, returning to Carson for the celebration was deeply personal.
“It’s like a full circle moment for me because I grew up in Carson, California,” Tupuola said. “This is where the foundation was set for me. This is where I put my blood, sweat, and tears. This is home. This is my home turf.”
Tupuola said competing in cities around the world has been special, but the idea of the Olympics coming back to his hometown carries a different kind of meaning.
“It’s more like, man, I’m going home,” Tupuola said. “My family, they don’t really get to watch me in person a lot because I travel for my tournaments. So for it to be here, on a big stage like the Olympics, it means a lot because they can actually watch me there.”
Hicks called Tupuola’s presence a proud moment for the city.
“To have your own person go off, do the Olympics on that platform, and come back and give back to the community — that’s a proud moment,” Hicks said. “To pour into these young people the dream and the ability that you could achieve and be a gold medalist — absolutely.”
Davis-Holmes echoed that pride, saying Carson’s local athletes send an important message to residents and young people.
“How many cities have Olympians that live in their city? That’s huge,” Davis-Holmes said. “We wanted to introduce them to those Olympians and say, ‘If you want to be an Olympian, you’re looking at five or six right here on the stage.’”
She also emphasized the importance of representation, noting that Carson’s strength is rooted in its diversity.
“We’re the most diverse city in the United States,” Davis-Holmes said. “We’re just proud that we have not only African Americans that are being represented, but all nationalities.”
For Tupuola, the youth-centered event was an opportunity to plant seeds early.
“This is a great opportunity for the kids to get them started early,” Tupuola said. “It’s all about the ideas you plant in the children. With the idea comes hard work and fruition to accomplish whatever goals they have.”
He said exposing children to the Olympics, world travel and athletic achievement can help them imagine what is possible.
“It gives them a lot of exposure to what’s going on in the world, places they could go and achievements they can achieve,” Tupuola said. “There’s about 500 kids here, so that’s a lot of dreams to be nurturing.”
Tupuola said he made the decision to pursue professional sports seriously when he was 17 years old.
“I clearly told myself, it was really like a personal promise to myself, ‘I can do this. I can go forward with this,” he said. “You don’t just wake up a pro one day, and it happens overnight. It’s an ongoing thing that you have to keep attacking every day.”
The centerpiece of the event was the unveiling of Carson’s nearly 700-pound Olympic countdown clock. The clock will be displayed at City Hall, serving as a visual reminder of Carson’s role in LA28 and the community’s road to 2028.
For Carson, the countdown is not simply about marking the number of days until the Olympic flame arrives. It is about preparing a city, inspiring a generation and ensuring residents see themselves as part of one of the largest global events in modern sports.
As Southern California prepares to welcome the world, Carson is making clear that it intends to do more than host competitions. Through The Carson Experience, the city is building momentum, celebrating local pride and creating memories for residents long before the first event begins.
As Davis-Holmes put it, the message is simple: “Why not Carson?”
