Norman P Murray Community Center

Do not book evening events at this location as they are unprofessional in their management and do not follow protocol when difficulties arise.
An out of control site manager, Scott Gillman, called the police personally on my sister’s wedding with only 30 minutes left of the party remaining and no damage to the property or physically outrageous behavior of the guests. He felt «insulted by a male guest», he told me, and took pride in having called the police personally on us and forcing us to break down the wedding furniture and decorations a full 20 minutes before the official break down was to begin. He could not point out which guest had supposedly insulted him and was yelling uncontrollably and unprofessionally at myself, the bride and other guests within the party space and loudly declaring his calling in police. He did this without once contacting the contract signees on site or myself, the maid of honor, that had been in repeated contact to make sure everything was going smoothly and would be broken down on time properly, thus breaking professional protocol. Prior to his outburst, he had even personally walked me through the path we would be taking the rental furniture and where we would leave it less than 20 minutes before he personally called the cops (the walk-​through occurring upon my request and a full hour before the formal breakdown was to begin to make sure we did it correctly) because a guest had spoken out of line to him. He also never had on site security speak to us directly.
No guests were arrested, no guests were breathalized, the site was unharmed in any way, we dealt with keeping a continuous check on the DJ volume throughout the night, and all contractees and on site contacts for the wedding party were sober, in regular polite contact with management, and always readily available.
The contractual signees were on site and had been in constant contact with Mr. Gillman through the course of the evening. We as contractees and on site contacts would have gladly dealt with anything that might have been amiss if Mr. Gillman had spoken to us about it; but he didn’t. He broke protocol. On site security also never spoke to us about anything that might have been amiss about guests, but they also did not.
Mr. Gillman acted completely unprofessionally and in full temper and ruined the end of what had been a truly lovely wedding celebration.
Do not trust the Norman P. Murray Center to care for your interests or act professionally in evening events. Especially if Mr. Gillman is present. I do not recommend them.

After months of searching for a venue, I remembered this place (I went as a kid to events here). Wow has it been upgraded since then! After coming by to scope it out, I knew instantly that I wanted my wedding there. Booking was a little difficult since it fills up so fast so plan ahead (like a year wait). We had our wedding there like 9 months ago. We received so many compliments on the venue! We had about 215 guests so we rented the larger room, the two adjacent rooms (As our rooms to prepare) and the entire terrace. LOVE the updates they especially the terrace with the cabanas! The staff was friendly, with exception of the staff at night (Security), which I was told were very rude. The price was good and you get discounts if you live in Mission Viejo… which thankfully one of my family members did. Beautiful location within walking distance for pictures. Tons of parking for guests. Its a community center, so you can go anytime and check it out. I ended up just swinging by numerous times to measure, plan out and imagine the day. Since its open, I didn’t have to pay for the rehersal… we just walked up and did it. I was concerned about the privacy since it is open to the public but it felt very intimate. So happy I looked at this place and my guests were too!

I just had my baby’s 1^st birthday party here and I absolutely loved how easy it was to reserve space and deal with the friendly staff. Their staff was very accommodating and answered all of my millions of questions as a first time solo event planner for such a large event. I was under a lot of time pressure with dealing with a lot of party logistics but I was far beyond grateful when the Center staff offered to lend me some large carts for loading!
As for the venue space, I rented out Orchard Terrace and it was PERFECT on a sunny 75 °F day for all of my party needs for a 1^st birthday. I have a wide age range group of people who attended and I can say that everyone had a blast and we had lots of positive feedback from my attendees regarding the location. The cabanas provided so much relaxing lounge space outdoors, there was a lot of moving space, and lots of tables. The way the outside was set up was so beautiful I couldn’t stop looking at the pictures we took of the party. We were also able to request some tables for food, etc… and the staff provided all of those right away! All you need to do is bring your decorations and props and you’re ready to go! (Tip: They don’t allow confetti since it’s in their policy so don’t bother with those.)
For a kid’s birthday party, the fact that Orchard Terrace opened up directly to the large playground provided a lot of fun for the kids who attended. My husband wants to host our child’s birthday here every year now.
On the side — there were 2 other baby birthday parties going on at the same time as mine… so as a TIP: Make a large sign/​directional sign poster at the entrance so your guests don’t get confused. Thank goodness I did for mine since there was another girl’s 1^st birthday party next to my reserved area and I’m sure their guests were confused…

We held our wedding reception in the Palo Verde room and Orchard Terrace. We received several comments throughout the night about how people could not believe that this was a community center because it was so nice. The Palo Verde room had ample space to accommodate our 75ish guests, open air photobooth, and our dance floor. The terrace was nice for the guests who wanted to take a breather. Marcelo was a pleasure to work with, and the value on this place cannot be beat.

One of the pluses about this Community Center is that one of the meeting rooms has been Hearing Looped. It’s great for others that wear hearing aids. I got crystal clear amplified sound broadcast directly to my hearing aids, No reverberation or distortion. All community centers should provide the same quality of sound for their users.

Very nice and elegant. I understand why the lady said she held her wedding reception here. The senior center is very relaxing. I attend a retirement seminar which was held in a large meeting room. It’s a school upon the entrance to the senior center. A nice park which I seen people jogging, walking, walking there dogs, playing soccer and baseball. Very nice roomy park

***Last review of 2012!!!***
Congrats to Christine and Daniel on their wedding!!! That’s the reason why I was here two days ago. The venue was nice, and just enough out of the way to feel private. The wedding was at night and the day was rather rainy. It was supposed to be outside but seeing as the sky could open up at any minute, it was moved inside. Parking was easy, no trouble here. there was another wedding at the venue on the other side, no big deal. The venue was all decorated for Christmas and looked great. We were in a large room to right right of the entrance. The tables were set up and a makeshift altar was up in the front. Everything looked great, including the two ginormous Christmas trees on either side of the room. The acoustics were great, though the mic had some feedback from time to time. The caterers were a little off, rumor has it that they forgot four knives. The food, however, was great. The beer and wine bar was great as well. Props to the bride for the rocking party dances mix that she’d given to the DJ. Overall, it was a great night with friends n a great location.

Now that the building has been renovated, it’s absolutely gorgeous. Much has changed since the Murray Center I grew up going to.

I held my wedding reception at the Norman P Murray Community Center last year and it was wonderful! The room we reserved was the perfect size for the number of guests we had, and the windows let in such beautiful, natural light. We also reserved the outdoor patio, which was ideal for the bouquet toss.
As the sun was setting, my husband and I headed out to take formal wedding photos in the gorgeous area outside. Our photos turned out beautifully and we could not be happier!
Lastly, compared to other wedding reception venues in the area, Norman P Murray was a steal when it came to the price! I highly recommend this venue as a reception site!

Lovely place for events! Almost feels like a resort with cabanas (minus the pool) where people can gather with nice conference rooms for indoor events.

Wha? I’m 1^st to Unilocal this spot? Yet there’s supposedly 5000+ ppl attended: «Freeze, Flashmob Swingdance, Pacific Symphony Concert!» this past weekend (
) …yeah, ok sure.
Hi-​5 to Hazel Q. for posting pix first too. My actual experience w/​this gorgeous center is its vast outdoor adjacent park. Large enough for several events simultaneously!
One as mentioned above. Little did I realize I was in for a humongous treat. Upon arriving solo (Yep, took myself out on a sunny, easy-​going date & ended up w/​several most heart-​warming company ever!)…I was first greeted by friendly volunteer golf caddy drivers shuffling park visitors to the open venue.
Next I made a non-​planned bee-​line, checking out tricked out classic autos, kiddie playground spots incl. sandboxes, cardboard character cutout photo stands, corporate-​sponsored booths/​demos, & plenty of food vendors fanning their flavorful foods. Finally I reach the umbrella shaded tables completely dressed in front bean-​baggie cushioned front stage where a tribute classic rock band play the crowd faves like Eagles & Jimmy Buffet stuff.
To the side of the stage, a make-​shift crew of bandit dancers threw out their own creative spin inspired by the fun melodies. Suddenly on cue the cute oldies, «Tweedle-​Dee-​Deet-​Tweet-​Tweet» bust out & a mass of ppl gather to an impromptu yet choreographed swing groove. The whole thing is now probably everywhere on YouTube vids.
When the fun spontaneous show was over, the next cool part for me personally was approaching a lady dancer to thank her & her crew. Overjoyed I rattled on for more info. Turns out the dance lead who orchestrated the entire movement was no other than the same Meetup Organizer I was hoping to run in. YAY!
After the introduction I was instantly awe-​struck & delighted to join the group on their nite picnic. Showing up w/​no friends, my evening shifted entirely w/​so many new ones. Among them, we all enjoyed the Pacific Symphony’s classical creations, incl.2 operatic singers.
During the worldly performances, a father & son w/​their beautiful fluffy white dog named Bentley became our neighbor & engaging new friends. The friendly spirit of the mood here was undeniable. Everyone left later w/​huge smiles, warm hugs, & certain promises to return. And why not? Aside from the food, the entire elegance for dates, families, gatherings all cost a total of ZERO! Complimentary of the city actually.
Definitely hope to back for more sweet fun, although according to the program the band itself will travel/​perform @other parks too. As for the dance troupe… perhaps new friends may catch me @the next Flashmob Swing, or even in one. How lucky would that be?! If only I could get myself to the practices first. ;-)