850 pounds eaten at Fish Fry

Deirdre Newman

Fish lovers flocked to the Fish Fry last weekend and gobbled up 850

pounds of Alaskan cod, racking up $27,000 for the Lions Club.

The amount was three times more than club officials had predicted.

“Overall, we’re kind of stoked about the whole thing and [we’re]

looking forward to the future of it,” said Mike Scheafer, Costa Mesa

city councilman and Lions Club president, who served as the event’s

chairman.

After settling a lawsuit that shelved the Fish Fry for two years,

a scaled-back version was held at Lions Park over the weekend. The

last Fish Fry before the lapse, held at Orange Coast College, raised

about $35,000, Scheafer said. The money funds the schools and

organizations such as Little League.

The event rekindled a spirit of community, said Kirk Bauermeister,

assistant high school principal for Costa Mesa High School, who

served as Scheafer’s “right-hand man” during the event.

“It really was a good time, like an old-fashioned community

get-together,” Bauermeister said. “A lot of people got to see people

they hadn’t seen in a really long time.”

The 57-year-old event floundered after a woman claimed she hurt

her ankle at the 2000 Fish Fry when she stepped off a curb at OCC.

The civil lawsuit was settled out of court last May for $30,000.

Scheafer didn’t have the attendance results yet for this year’s

event, but said Lions Club members served up 3,019 fish dinners, compared to 3,300 in 2000.

Councilman Allan Mansoor stopped by Sunday.

“I thought it was good,” Mansoor said. “Hopefully, it will be even

bigger and better next year.”

Bauermeister, who went to his first Fish Fry in 1964, when he was

4, said he became involved with the Lions Club a year ago to help

revive the Fish Fry.

During the event, Bauermeister thanked attendees for their support

and asked them what they thought of the event and what they would

like to see in future years.

“I tried to tell people -- the last Fish Fry you went to was the

culmination of 50 years, and we’ll slowly bring back the things that

people want,” Bauermeister said.

Next year, the Lions Club will try to solicit more booths from

community groups and expand the carnival to include some adult rides,

Scheafer said. Other changes may come about when the club holds a

meeting in August to discuss the pros and cons of this year’s event,

he said.

Next year, the Fish Fry will take place again over two days,

instead of the traditional three days, the weekend after Memorial

Day.