Fish Fry revival expected

Lolita Harper

COSTA MESA -- Attempting to reignite the tradition that goes hand in

hand with battered Icelandic cod, Fish Fry organizers said Wednesday they

expect to revive the community event but in a much smaller version.

Mike Schaefer, the president of the Costa Mesa Newport Harbor Lion’s

Club, said he has been working with fellow members on the best plan for

this year’s Fish Fry -- scheduled for the first weekend in June.

“Right now, we anticipate doing some kind of Fish Fry,” Schaefer said.

“But right now things are just in the suggestion stage.”

Preliminary plans for the scaled-down event call for the customary

fish dinner with some craft booths as entertainment, he said -- a stark

contrast to the heyday of the Fish Fry, which included a carnival, beauty

pageant and parade.

The Costa Mesa Newport Harbor Lion’s Club Board of Directors will make

a final decision about the future of the Fish Fry at its Jan. 29 meeting.

Schaefer said it is more important to restore tradition and get the

momentum back than to worry about a blowout event.

“Members have diminished, and the support we have is much smaller --

partly because we didn’t have the Fish Fry last year,” he said.

The annual event was unexpectedly canceled last year after a

disagreement about a lawsuit between the club and Orange Coast College --

which played host for the previous two years. The dispute left the Fish

Fry with no location. It would have been the tradition’s 58th year.

Club members were unable to find a location last year because of the

late notice, and they could not use the event’s historic site at Lions

Park because of construction of the city’s new Downtown Recreation

Center.

The completed recreation facility is still a challenge because

additions to the park have reduced much of the open space, mandating a

much smaller celebration.

“It is definitely not big enough for a carnival-type event,” Schaefer

said.

Lions Park is still the preferred spot for the Fish Fry, Schaefer

said, because the club does not want a carnival on school grounds while

classes are in session, and the Orange County Fairgrounds are too costly.

Sandi Benson, a member of Costa Mesa’s special events committee, said

the changes to Lions Park will determine whether the event can be held

there.

Benson said the city would not be able to make a commitment until more

concrete plans were presented by the Lion’s Club.

“I hate to see them not be able to have an event. It was so

unfortunate what happened at OCC. If there is anyway we can help them, we

want to do that,” Benson said.

Schaefer said he is looking for help not only from the city but from

fellow Lion’s Club members. So far, only his chapter has been responsible

for Fish Fry. The president is now looking to incorporate other area

chapters to make it a collaborative event.

If more Lion’s Club members became involved, it would solve many of

the problems the organizers have had with finances and manpower. Schaefer

said membership in his club has dropped 20% to 30% in the past two years.

“We’re just not getting new members like we used to,” he said.

* Lolita Harper covers Costa Mesa. She may be reached at (949)

574-4275 or by e-mail at o7 lolita.harper@latimes.comf7 .