How to Celebrate the 4th of July in Mira Mesa

A beginner’s guide to fun and fireworks in Mira Mesa on Independence Day.

There are several things you need to prepare for if you want your Independence Day to be memorable for the whole family. You must first prepare a list of people you want to invite to spend the day with you and your loved ones. Make sure you leave off the obnoxious distant cousin or uncle that drinks too much and spends most of the time annoying your guests.  Once your list is complete, determine the menu for the day. Plan on bringing enough food to cover those on your list plus a few extras for those unexpected guests that just show up. It is highly recommended to encourage your guests to bring their own items to toss on the grill, thus greatly reducing your cost to host the party.

Bring plenty of condiments, plates, cups, napkins, towels, and trash bags to supply your group. Make sure you pack plenty of sunscreen, since it will be a nice sunny day for us all to enjoy. Make sure when packing the cooler with beverages that you only bring cans or plastic bottles, since glass bottles are prohibited from the park. It is also a public park, and alcohol is also prohibited. San Diego’s Finest will be out on patrol making sure we all can enjoy the Fourth of July in a safe, family environment. There will be portable toilets set up throughout the park, and trash cans set up as well. It is still recommended that you maintain your area and definitely clean up after yourselves once the fireworks have finished.  Also bring plenty of water to keep hydrated during the day, as it is going to be a hot one.

Every year there seems to be a group that tries to be the first ones to secure their spot by either camping out or using yellow “Caution” tape to mark their area. Although there is no official rule to save your spot, the 24 hour rule is best observed, and make sure someone stays at your spot at all times incase you are asked to relocate. Setting up your canopy on Friday for the Saturday event is plenty of time to assure you will have a nice spot to enjoy the festivities. Another thing to consider is the fact that the Parks and Recreation people have the final say and you will be asked to relocate if your “claimed spot” is needed for any of the predetermined locations necessary for the Fun Day at the Park Events. There will be areas designated for the carnival rides, entertainment venues, children’s game area, and community groups that host these events.

If this is your first time celebrating the Fourth of July in Mira Mesa, these tips should be very useful. If you are a long time resident, I hope you agree with the things I provided and feel free to add your comments to the post at the bottom of this article. Either way, I hope you have a great Fourth of July and enjoy the Fireworks! Here is the list of events in the order which they occur:

Black Mountain Masonic Lodge Pancake Breakfast will be held at the Epicentre at 7:30 a.m.

The Mira Mesa 4th of July Parade begins at 11:30 a.m., with the start of the parade route at Greenford Drive. The Parade continues along Mira Mesa Blvd on the north side of the street, turning right on Camino Ruiz, and finishing at the Mira Mesa Community Park on New Salem. For your safety, please remain off of the street during the parade.

The Mira Mesa Fun Day at the Park is an all day event, which begins after the conclusion of the Parade. There will be Free Games for the kids, food, music, and entertainment all day long in addition to pony rides and amusement rides available for a small fee. The Fun Day at the Park takes place throughout the Mira Mesa Community Park, around the Gil Johnson Recreation Center, and on the baseball fields on Mira Mesa Blvd.

The Grand Finale of our Mira Mesa 4th of July Celebration is the Fireworks Extravaganza that takes place at 9:00 p.m. The fireworks are launched over Mira Mesa High School, and the best views are from the Mira Mesa Community Park. The fireworks are synchronized to music that can be heard on KYXY FM 96.5 so tune in and enjoy all the patriotic music.

Many community fireworks had to be cancelled due to budget restraints, and Mira Mesa does not want to be one of them. Please donate to the Fireworks Fund to keep this Mira Mesa tradition going, and look for the video of the 2009 Fourth of July Fireworks Extravaganza on our website by Monday, July 6!

The Latest Flash for June 29-July 5, 2009

I hope you are getting ready for our big Independence Day Celebration this weekend! Before I give you all the details on the 4th of July events, I want to let you know about a couple of other events that take place during the week.

The Epicentre is in the process of updating their contact information, and they are looking for individuals that have been involved with the Epicentre over the years. This includes individuals that donated the tiles in the front of the building. If you could forward your name, address, and email address to David Proulx, the Youth Program Manager for the Epicentre, they can make sure your information is current. They will be celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the Epicentre this year, and want to make sure the invitations reach the correct destination. Thank you for your help. You can contact David by email at dproulx@harmoniumsd.org, or call (858) 735-6191.

The Mira Mesa High School Boys Water Polo Team will not have a fundraiser this week due to the holiday weekend, but make plans to dine at the Souplantation on Thursday July 9 from 5-8 p.m. You need to download the flyer and bring it with you for the team to get reimbursed for 20% of your receipt. You can download the flyer here. Thank you for supporting our local boy’s water polo team! Future events will be held at:
July 16   Panda Express
July 23   Jamba Juice
July 30   Pat and Oscar’s
Flyers for those events can be found at MiraMesa.com the week of the event.

The Woodfin Hotel located at 10044 Pacific Mesa Blvd. will be hosting their Wednesday Wine Flights at the Oasis Bar and Grill every Wednesday from 5:00 – 6:00 p.m.
Each flight is paired with a “small plate” appetizer created by Executive Chef Patrizio Sacchetto, and the cost is only $15 per person. There is a different theme each week which focuses on a particular style of wine or region.

Here is the summer line up:

July 1   Pinot Noir
July 8   Chilean Wines
July 15  Summer Wines
July 22  Central California Coast
July 29  Big Napa Valley Reds
August 5  Pacific Rim Wines
August 12 Monterey, CA area wines
August 19  Merlot from around the world
August 26  Sonoma County wines
Sept. 2  Rhone Blends
Woodfin Hotel San Diego 10044 Pacific Mesa Blvd, San Diego, CA 92121    Phone: (858) 410-0656 or visit online at: www.oasissandiego.com

The line up and information for the 4th of July is as follows:

Black Mountain Masonic Lodge Pancake Breakfast will be held at the Epicentre at 7:30 a.m.

The Mira Mesa 4th of July Parade begins at 11:30 a.m., with the start of the parade route at Greenford Drive. The Parade continues along Mira Mesa Blvd on the north side of the street, turning right on Camino Ruiz, and finishing at the Mira Mesa Community Park on New Salem. For your safety, please remain off of the street during the parade.

The Mira Mesa Fun Day at the Park is an all day event, which begins after the conclusion of the Parade. There will be Free Games for the kids, food, music, and entertainment all day long in addition to pony rides and amusement rides available for a small fee. The Fun Day at the Park takes place throughout the Mira Mesa Community Park, around the Gil Johnson Recreation Center, and on the baseball fields on Mira Mesa Blvd.

The Grand Finale of our Mira Mesa 4th of July Celebration is the Fireworks Extravaganza that takes place at 9:00 p.m. The fireworks are launched over Mira Mesa High School, and the best views are from the Mira Mesa Community Park. The fireworks are synchronized to music that can be heard on KYXY FM 96.5 so tune in and enjoy all the patriotic music.

Many community fireworks had to be cancelled due to budget restraints, and Mira Mesa does not want to be one of them. Please donate to the Fireworks Fund to keep this Mira Mesa tradition going, and look for the video of the 2009 Fourth of July Fireworks Extravaganza on our website by Monday, July 6!

Check Out Walgreens…But Leave The Cart!

By now you may have noticed that Walgreens has officially opened their doors for business. They had their grand opening tree planting ceremony today, June 24, 2009 and many of our local community leaders were on hand to welcome them to the neighborhood. There were plenty of free samples for the guests to enjoy, from ice cream and Coca Cola Zero to Walgreens Water Bottles filled with goodies. The ceremony was short and sweet, but the main point that was presented was the great lengths Walgreens went to make this whole project a “green” project.

This is their flagship store when it comes to the future of Walgreens buildings. They are LEED certified, which by definition is: LEED is an internationally recognized green building certification system, providing third-party verification that a building or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at improving performance across all the metrics that matter most: energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts. Take a walk into the store, and immediately you notice the use of sky lights throughout the building that reduces the need for florescent lighting. The landscape was designed to be self sustaining after a few months, and will rely on our annual rainfall to keep vegetation lush instead of a water maintenance system.

They had the community in mind when they designed this building, it’s resources, and even our #1 community issue: Shopping Carts. The one thing that I believe will make an immediate impact is the implementation of their theft resistant shopping carts. As most Mira Mesa residents know, we have a major issue with people removing shopping carts from the designated store areas and abandoning them in front of bus stops or in open fields. Actually, you can see groups of them in every park, side street, and major intersection street corner on a daily basis. The Walgreens shopping carts will engage a wheel lock when they are removed from the parking lot by a sensor, and the carts can not be moved. We are hoping that other stores in Mira Mesa will follow the example led by Walgreens and purchase this system for their stores. I received an email that I have to share with you which explains this issue humorously:

Checked out the new Walgreen’s this weekend…wanted specifically to see if I could steal a shopping cart. Not that I needed one, but stealing shopping carts is a traditional local pastime in Mira Mesa, and I wanted to test out their new anti-theft device. They have signs, and big yellow warning lines painted on the parking lot warning you NOT to take them out of the lot. Well! I’d show them! So I grab a cart and march off in the direction of Carl’s Jr. – right towards the yellow DMZ. I get to the line and slowly cross over…AHA! I made it across the line! I’ll just keep pushing this until – NNGGGRRRRRNNNNCH.

“Hmm, wow, this cart stopped and hard…apparently, there must be some kind of magnet in the front wheels – man, this thing isn’t moving at all! Well, I’ll just return it; I’ll just pop a wheelie, so I can put it back across the line. Two things wrong with that idea, first, when you get back on the right side of the line, the wheels don’t automatically unlock! AND, they have a spoiler bar across the back wheel, so you can’t get the front wheels off the ground! Since they have wire mesh across the frame of the cart, I had to pick it up with my fingertips and gingerly pull it back into the store.

The short of it is, I don’t think anybody is going to be able to steal one of these carts by wheeling it anywhere…but it’d be funny to watch them try.” – Name withheld to protect their identity.

So my recommendation is for you to visit the new Walgreens, check out the Pharmacy, as it is easy to use and they are very helpful. They are open 24 hours a day, they have a drive through pharmacy which is a great convenience, and there are some great deals inside. Just don’t try to take the shopping cart home with you.

Volunteers Needed for 4th of July Events

Mira Mesa 4th of July Fireworks Committee Needs Your Help! We are very close to the Fourth of July festivities that take place at the heart of Mira Mesa, in the area surrounding the Mira Mesa Community Park at the corner of Mira Mesa Blvd and New Salem Rd. We all love the Parade, the Fun Day at the Park, and the Fireworks Extravaganza, but there is a lot of volunteer work that goes on before, during, and after the Fourth to bring these events to our community. It is crunch time, and we need your help!

1. We need convertibles preferably with drivers to drive VIP’s in the parade.

2. Adult person or persons to spend the night of the 3rd at the high school to watch over the fireworks ….good father / son project for school (counts for student volunteer hours credit!).

3. Responsible people to help Maria with parade check in.

4. Dunk Tank….Someone or group to oversee the running of the Dunk Tank event with proceeds to go to the 4th of July fireworks, or can be split with other non profit group.

5. Person or people to deliver impact letters to businesses and residents that the parade will affect.

Thank you for your continued support…..we would not be able to put on this event if it wasn’t for the help of our community volunteers. Please respond to Sandy Smith at (858) 361-5229 or by email at sandysmt@san.rr.com by Wednesday, June 24.

The Latest Flash for June 22-28, 2009

We are in the fourth week of June, and that means our 4th of July Celebration is right around the corner! Mira Mesa knows how to celebrate in style, and it all begins with the 4th of July Parade. Residents line the streets along Mira Mesa Blvd to witness amazing floats, shiny convertibles carrying many of our local dignitaries, marching bands, and more. The parade ends at the Mira Mesa Community Park, but that is just where the fun begins.  The Mira Mesa Fun Day at the Park is a gathering of family, friends, and community for a sun-and-fun filled day of games, food, music and entertainment for the whole family. The day doesn’t end until after dusk when we are treated to an awesome display of fireworks that are launched directly over Mira Mesa High School.

If you have a convertible, or know someone who does and would like to chauffeur one of our local leaders, please contact Sandy Smith at (858) 361-5229. We still need a few cars to round out the parade, and your help is greatly appreciated.  Additional funds are also needed for the Mira Mesa Fireworks. If you would like to donate to the fund, please use this link.

Tuesday, June 23 at 6:30 p.m. will be the first meeting of the Mira Mesa Nonprofit Executive Council (MMNEC) at the Senior Center. This group was created as a result of the 5th District Volunteer Summit presented by Carl DeMaio in an effort to unite the various non-profit groups within his district. We identified a number of issues that each group faces, and also listed a few goals to achieve. Working together, we plan on gaining support and solving our issues and building a better community. Mike Davis will lead this group, and is currently seeking participation from every non profit group within Mira Mesa. If you would like to be a part, please attend this meeting or contact Mike Davis at Mira Mesa HEROES.

Our new Walgreen’s has been completed, and the Grand Opening Ceremonies are scheduled for Wednesday, June 24 at 10:00 a.m. There will be a tree planting ceremony taking place, and many of our Mira Mesa Leaders will be present to tour the latest addition to our business community.

USA Federal Credit Union is holding a Poker Night Fundraiser at Dave & Busters on Wednesday, June 24 at 6:00 p.m. There will be a raffle and prizes during the event, with proceeds benefiting The Center for Community Solutions. Visit www.ccssd.org to find out more about this organization.

Join us at Daphne’s Greek Café located in the Mira Mesa Marketplace this Thursday night for a fundraiser for the Mira Mesa High School Boy’s Water Polo Team. Print out this flyer and bring it with you between 4-9 p.m. and they will donate 20% of the sales from your meal to the team. Print extras and pass them out to your friends, as the school can use all the help they can get with next year’s budget.

Our Mira Mesa HEROES are at it again, giving a much needed facelift to our Mira Mesa Schools. This Saturday, June 27 we need volunteers to help with the beautification project at Ericson Elementary School. The more volunteers the better, as we get started at 8:00 a.m. and work until noon. Wear comfortable clothes that you can get paint on, as we will be clearing brush, painting walls and trim, and fixing anything that can be easily repaired. Refreshments will be served, and it is a fun time for everyone, young and old. Ericson Elementary is located at 11174 Westonhill Dr.

Thursday’s Summer No Cook Night at Daphne’s

Join us at Daphnes for a “Summer No Cook Night” fundraiser that will benefit the Mira Mesa High School Boys Water Polo Team. All you have to do is print out the flyer and bring it with you to Daphne’s Greek Cafe in Mira Mesa on  Thursday, June 25, 2009 between 4-7 PM and they will donate 20% to the team for every flyer that is turned in with your order. They are located at 10728 Westview Pkwy.

You get a fresh, Greek and delicious meal, no one has to cook or do the dishes, and the Water Polo Team gets some much needed extra funds for their program. Everybody wins! Look for future “Summer No Cook Night” promotions right here at MiraMesa.com.

The Latest Flash for June 15-21, 2009

Ramp Closure This Weekend June 19-21, 2009.
The southbound I-15 off-ramp to Mira Mesa Boulevard will be temporarily closed starting Friday at 9 p.m. and reopening Monday at 5 a.m. Motorists traveling to Mira Mesa Boulevard from southbound I-15 will be detoured to west on Mercy Road to south on Black Mountain Road onto Mira Mesa Boulevard. Detour signs will be posted. For more info, click here.

This Saturday you can drop off your extra tires at the Used Tires Recycling event at Mira Mesa High School from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. This is for San Diego County Residents only, and you can find more information by using this link.

Our local Fire Station #41 has received a lot of community love lately, in the form of a fresh paint job backed by the efforts of our Mira Mesa HEROES. Once the exterior was completed, the interior had a complete make-over thanks to the efforts of Rebuilding Together San Diego and Turner Construction. Please use this link to view a video of the completed projects. Great job to all the volunteers from both phases of this project, as our Fire Fighters from Station #41 thank you for all of your support and efforts!

Are you looking for something different to do with your family now that summer is here? Back by popular demand, the County of San Diego Department of Parks and Recreation has teamed up with the cities of National City, La Mesa, San Marcos, Poway, Oceanside and Lemon Grove to bring 20 movies to parks and pools this summer, making it the largest free movie event in the county. The program kicks off June 19 with a showing of “Madagascar 2″ at the Fallbrook Community Center and continues through September 26 with such box office hits as “Kung Fu Panda,” “Night at the Museum 2″ and “Wall-E, as well as classics such as “The Wizard of Oz” and “E.T.” The movies will be shown in high-quality digital on a 28-foot inflatable widescreen specially designed for large audiences. All movies are free, open to the public and begin at dusk. Use this link for more information.

Don’t forget to stop by the Mira Mesa Farmers Market Tuesday, from 3 – 7 p.m. for some great food, produce, and one of a kind father’s day gifts!

Mira Mesa Blvd Southbound Off-Ramp Temporary Closure

Please be advised that the southbound Interstate 15 (I-15) off-ramp to Mira Mesa Boulevard will be temporarily closed starting June 19 at 9 p.m. and ending June 22 at 5 a.m.

As part of the on-going I-15 Express Lanes project, the southbound off-ramp to Mira Mesa Boulevard is being reconstructed in order to widen the freeway and create the necessary space for two additional express lanes in the median. This closure is necessary in order to complete construction and pave the new off-ramp.

Construction workers will make every effort to minimize disruptions during construction. Should you have any question about this closure or construction of the I-15, please contact the I-15 Public Information Office at 858-668-3368. Click here to view full PDF.

UP is a Hit at the Box Office…Great In 3-D!

Last weekend was the perfect weekend to take the family to the movies. It was cold, somewhat wet (a heavy mist in San Diego counts as rainy weather to me) and the little league field was too muddy to play baseball, so off to the theater we went. Friday night we went to see the most recent Pixar film, titled “UP” and we entered the theater not knowing anything about the movie other than the images of an older man floating his house away with an endless amount of helium balloons.

Being a huge fan of Pixar Studios, this didn’t bother me at all. Take past concepts like a cast of talking cars (Cars) or talking fish (Finding Nemo), or aliens (Monsters Inc.) or a variety of children’s toys (Toy Story) and you will find winners in every one of them. Kids can grasp the concept of floating your house away with balloons better than adults can, but the animation is so brilliant that even as an educated adult (not necessarily a positive attribute) you can totally relate to the characters and the storyline. I especially like the way that they can convey difficult situations for children to understand without the use of confusing dialog. They use music and video images to tell the story in a way that tugs at your heart strings while the message rings out loud and clear without ever saying a word.

To say I loved this movie goes without saying. The people at Pixar also created a version in 3-D to give yet another dimension of the brilliance of their creative team. Having seen several 3-D movies without being impressed, I would actually recommend seeing this one in 3-D. They don’t stoop to the gimmicks of pointless things reaching out to grab you; instead they use the 3-D images to add depth perception to every scene. When some characters are in the foreground, you actually feel like they are in front rather than on the same field. We returned to the theater two days after seeing UP the first time, to watch it in 3-D and were very happy with the result. The glasses are a huge step up from any 3-D glasses I have ever used, as they were very comfortable to wear for the time we spent at the movies. They even showed previews (about 15-20 minutes of previews and a new Pixar movie short) in 3-D which was very cool.

So my advice to you is to grab the kids and head over to Edwards Cinemas this weekend and take in the best movie out for the entire family. The only concern for protective parents is the topic of death is brought up in a very sweet, touching manner as described above in the second paragraph. Still, I took my 6 year old to this movie twice, and I will more than likely add it to my video collection when it comes out on DVD as well. I just hope they send the same 3-D glasses with the 3-D video! Go see UP, and you will know why it is #1 at the box office.

Top 10 Father’s Day Gifts For Dad

Sunday, June 21 is Father’s Day. I thought about making a self serving list of things that I would like for Father’s Day, which is something I would totally do. I somewhat expect my wife and son to completely ignore this list anyway, so instead I will go the more traditional way and list the Top 10 Things To Get Dad For Father’s Day with links to the items themselves.

#1. A Riding Lawnmower. Sure, I have a tiny yard that only takes 20 minutes to mow front and back. I can just tell you that it may be ridiculous to own a riding mower in the city, but it would be COOL to have one anyway. Kind of like having a $400 Coach purse with only $3 cash in side of it. Use this link to my riding lawn mower.

#2. A New Set Of Golf Clubs. Every dad loves to golf, even the ones that have never held a golf club in their hands. There is something about being with the guys, being at one with nature, and smacking a little white ball with a $300 stick that just makes you feel like a successful human being. You can find a nice set of clubs from Pro Golf Discount online at www.progolfsandiego.com

#3. The Taylor Digital Luggage Scale. If your man travels, or even if he doesn’t but you don’t want a battle at the check in counter when you go on a family trip, get him this cool little gadget. It hooks up to your luggage, and gives you a digital read out on how much your bags weigh before you get to the check in counter and have to adjust your luggage to avoid the weight restriction fees. Check this Digital Luggage Scale
.

#4. Keep Dad smelling nice all year with a new exciting scent from Armani. I recently picked up on Armani Code after spending close to an hour at the men’s cologne section in Macy’s. You can find it here: Armani Code for men.

#5. Does your Dad love to read, but he also loves electronic gadgets? Get him the Kindle. He can take any book with him to read on the plane, at work, or lounging around the house. Easy to hold, easy to read, and fun to use. Honey, if you are reading this, this is what I want!

#6. Does your Dad have a collection of watches? This luxurious watch organizer is just the thing to help him keep his timepieces clean, safe, and organized. My dad had one of these, and I always wish I did.

#7. Most Dad’s love to BBQ, so get him this unique baseball shaped portable BBQ that can be taken to the ball park or camping easily. You can order it today using this link to the Baseball BBQ.

#8. I love the Flip Mino HD Video camera. This pocket video camera connects to your computer with it’s own USB port for quick transfer. There are different versions, so check the one that best suits your needs. The Flip Ultra runs off of batteries, while the Mino has a rechargeable internal battery. The HD versions have superior video quality and excellent audio quality as well. The Ultra HD has 120 minutes of video -vs- 60 minutes on the Mino HD, which may sway you that direction. Both are a great buy.

#9. Customize a t-shirt, coffee mug, BBQ apron or specialty item with your child’s image. My wife had custom ties created from my favorite pictures of my son, and I wore them to work with pride. I still wear my child’s picture t-shirts as my favorite night shirts. You can find one of a kind items at www.zazzle.com

10. The best thing that you can get Dad for Father’s Day doesn’t cost a dime: After the morning celebration, give him the rest of the day to himself. Let him relax in the lazy boy recliner and watch the closing holes of the U.S. Open, or go surfing with his buddies. Maybe head out to play a few holes of golf at his favorite course, or even clean out the garage without interruption. That is a great way to say “Dad, I love you. Happy Father’s Day”.

I hope this list gives you a few ideas, and feel free to use the links provided to take you directly to the products listed above. Happy Father’s Day to all the Dads out there. Enjoy your day.

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