Eastside Picnic A Success - Again
My best guess - confirmed by folks selling raffle tickets and counting heads - was that a couple hundred people attended, and that may be short, if you try to include all the beautiful children in the mix. This year there seemed to be more teeny little ones at the event - a good sign for the resurging Eastside.
The day was enhanced by the presence of Police Chief Rob Sharpnack and Fire Chief Dan Stefano, back from his Hawaii vacation. And, many of their officers and firefighters attended, too. Engine 83 - that big old ladder truck - and one of our brand new Medical Vans were parked on the street adjacent to the park so folks could get guided tours of the apparatus.
During the couple hours my sweet and very patient wife and I spent at the picnic we met lots of new folks and chatted with some old friends, too. I saw only Councilwoman Sandra Genis representing The City - no other elected or appointed officials attended while we were there. We even saw some Westsiders crashing the party, too, as Eleanor and Tom Egan greeted us. And CMTV's Brad Long showed up without cameras, just to show support for the event - and to snag some food.
Former councilman Jay Humphrey attended, along with his fellow Costa Mesa First officer, Rick Huffman, who explained the petition for their initiative to interested parties.
This was a kid and dog friendly venue, so we had a lot of both. There were fun contests for the children - like this shoe kicking contest...
Kean Coffee provided iced coffee and tea products and there were hot dogs available, too. Here a couple of entrepreneurs talked to folks about their plan for a new Chop House on Broadway near Newport Blvd. They brought samples of pies for the tasting... winner!
So, once again, thanks to my friends at the Eastside Costa Mesa Neighbors Group for another fine event. The weather was perfect and the turnout was great. We're looking forward to the next one already.
Labels: Dan Stefano, Eastside Costa Mesa Neighbors Group, Eastside PIcnic, Jay Humphrey, Rob Sharpnack, Sandra Genis
posted by The Pot Stirrer at 8/03/2015 12:09:00 AM
3 Comments:
Hey, Pot Stirrer, we were invited! And we had a good time seeing old friends - you included - and meeting new ones.
Eleanor, I didn't mean to imply you actually crashed the party... EVERYONE was welcome. Next year they need to do a better job of getting the word out. Getting the flyer on my doorstep the day before doesn't give much chance for planning. Sorry about the photo... your hubby was leading the band or something, flailing his arms about. :-)
It was nice the black hats weren't there. Everyone enjoyed themselves.
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