Batter up! Costa Mesa Newport Harbor Lions prep for Fish Fry this weekend at Lions Park
Busy hands will soon be put to work as volunteers batter 1,000 pounds of fish fillets and make last-minute preparations for the return of the Costa Mesa-Newport Harbor Lions Club’s annual Fish Fry on Friday evening.
The beloved local event takes place at Costa Mesa’s Lions Park, aka “Airplane Park,” where more than 20,000 anticipated visitors may enjoy live entertainment, snacks, a beer and wine garden, a full-size kids’ carnival with games and, as always, signature fish dinners for $15.
“We’re in crazy mode right now,” Lions Club member Gretchen Harvey said Tuesday, explaining the 24-member chapter relies on school groups and other area Lions Clubs to pull the whole thing off.
“There are probably hundreds of volunteers all together,” agreed husband Cabot Harvey, co-chair of the event alongside President Joan Parks. “It takes a village to put this on.”
Many Costa Mesans acknowledge there’s just something about the event that keeps them coming back, whether it’s the community spirit or a nostalgia born from decades of celebrations.
Kirk Bauermesiter, a longtime resident and member of the Lions Club for more than 20 years, recalls attending his first Fish Fry in at the ripe old age of 3.
He remembered being impressed at how city streets used to temporarily close to accommodate all the rides and all the festivities of yore, including the crowning of Miss Fish Fry and a Most Beautiful Baby contest.
“The Ferris wheel was in the middle of the street — it was just the coolest thing,” the 63-year-old recalled Tuesday. “All the local businesses would shut down, and the whole city of Costa Mesa came out.
“It’s been around so long there are people my age who were in the baby contest.”
Bauermeister went from attending the Fish Fry with his parents as a child to bringing his own kids. This weekend, his 8-month-old grandson will mark his first visit.
When he was in his 40s, Bauermeister joined the Lions Club and was immediately trained by local legend Hank Hornsveld on how to properly plate the fish, a task he performs to this day.
“It’s kind of a generational thing,” he said. “Pretty soon, I’ve got to teach somebody else to do it.”
Mayor John Stephens, who makes a number of appearances at ribbon cuttings, golf classics, youth sporting events and other ceremonies each month, called the Fish Fry a standout event.
“It’s definitely the most historically significant and enduring event on the calendar of Costa Mesa,” he said Tuesday. “There’s no other event that even comes close to that.”
The 76th Costa Mesa-Newport Harbor Lions Club Fish Fry runs from 5 to 10 p.m. on Friday, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday at Lions Park, 570 18th St., in Costa Mesa. Admission is free, and food, beverages and ride tickets are available for purchase. For more, visit cmnh-lions.com.
All the latest on Orange County from Orange County.
Get our free TimesOC newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Daily Pilot.
