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Los Angeles Times
02-07-2025
- Los Angeles Times
Costa Mesa Fish Fry turnout low as Latinos, fearing ICE raids, withdraw from public
With tensions running high in Costa Mesa's Latino community — and as ICE agents were observed in town over the weekend — organizers of the annual Fish Fry in Lions Park reported record low attendance at this year's event. Hosted by the Costa Mesa-Newport Harbor Lions Club since 1946, the three-day affair typically draws up to 20,000 visitors to the city's west side with freshly prepared fish dinners and food trucks, live concerts and a full-size carnival with rides and games. While admission is free, proceeds from the attractions go to the club which, in turn, doles out grants and scholarships to many community organizations. In exchange, recipients volunteer at the fry, helping the 27-member club pull off what is its largest fundraiser of the year. But last weekend, Lions Park appeared relatively sparse compared to previous years and organizers say it's likely because many local Latino families are opting to stay home, as immigration activities ramp up throughout Orange County. 'We were missing a lot of Latino families who would normally come out for this,' Costa Mesa-Newport Harbor Lions President Cabot Harvey said Tuesday. 'ICE was two blocks away at 19th and Newport, and we didn't know what they were gearing up for, but we were on the lookout. I spoke to several Latino families who told me the same thing — people were just too afraid to come.' While no formal tallies were kept, Harvey and other organizers estimated the turnout was about 25% lower than in recent years. The carnival area, typically teeming with children and families, was nearly vacant, with no lines at the many rides and game areas. Councilwoman Arlis Reynolds, who represents the 5th council district that includes Lions Park, said there have been increased ICE sightings in the area while the number of families who have had a loved one taken into custody continues to grow. 'Lower attendance at the Fish Fry, at summer school, at churches, at parks and in public generally is evidence of the real fear so many in our community feel,' Reynolds said Wednesday. 'It's an awful and unacceptable situation when community members don't feel safe at a longstanding community festival at their local park.' Harvey said diminished attendance means less proceeds for the club to share with the school athletic teams, clubs and organizations that rely on the annual revenue boost. The Fish Fry ordinarily brings in anywhere from $40,000 to $50,000 that then goes out to about a dozen different groups. 'We just don't want to lose money, because our fundraising goal is trying to get as much as we can to give back to the community,' he said.
Los Angeles Times
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Costa Mesa Fish Fry, carnival returns to Lions Park Friday
Even though summer has technically begun, it just isn't summertime in the city of Costa Mesa until the fish hits the oil at the Costa Mesa Newport-Harbor Lions Club annual Fish Fry. The three-day fundraiser and community event returns to the city's Lions Park Friday at 5 p.m. and continues through Sunday night with carnival games and rides, live entertainment and, naturally, lots and lots of fish. How much? Lions Club members say this year's $15-per-plate feast will require 1,100 pounds of Alaskan cod filets — which will be coated in the club's own 'secret recipe' batter — 42 cases of fries and untold quantities of coleslaw provided by the Newport Rib Co. 'Next Thursday, we'll do the battering at the Newport Harbor High School kitchen,' said Joan Parks, club secretary and one of three event co-chairs, alongside President Cabot Harvey and Vice President and Fish Fry aficionado Kirk Bauemeister, a Newport-Mesa Unified School District retiree who's attended the event since age 3. 'This is not our first rodeo,' Parks said. Although the Costa Mesa-Newport Harbor Lions comprises fewer than two dozen service-minded individuals, members manage to pull off each year's Fish Fry with the help of numerous volunteers from area clubs, high schools and other service organizations. In fact, many of those who turn out each year to help set up tables, chairs and popup tents or lend a culinary hand hail from the groups who benefit from the bulk of the funds raised by each year's fry, which has always had community fundraising at its core. The beloved community tradition started in 1946, when club members came up with an idea to raise money for a new baseball field at the city's Lions Park. Deep fried fish planks were served up on regular dinner plates and later scraped clean and washed by hand. In the decades that followed, the event grew to epic proportions as upwards of 100,000 attendees crowded Costa Mesa streets along a 3-mile-long parade and celebrated the crowning of a Miss Fish Fry and Most Beautiful Baby. Local car dealerships chipped in vehicles for raffle prizes, and in 1976, then-First Lady Betty Ford handed out trophies to winning parade float entries. Today, the festival's finprint is much smaller, contained to the Lions Park civic center and its ample sports fields, including the baseball field purchased by the club with the very first fistful of Fish Fry dollars. But there's still plenty to keep visitors entertained, including a beer and wine garden, vendor booths, live music and dancing and a full-size carnival with games and rides. And for those who aren't fish fans, there are plenty of other food options, whether it's hot dogs and hamburgers served up by the Estancia High School baseball team, or brats and funnel cakes from neighboring Lions Club members, a Mexican food truck, ice cream and shaved ice. Costa Mesa Mayor John Stephens, who's attended the event pretty regularly in the 35 years he's lived in town, will make another appearance over the weekend to support the community, the club and its cause and, of course, purchase a dinner. 'It's a great use of Luke Davis Field and a great opportunity for people to go to the Fish Fry and be exposed to the [Donald Dungan] Library and the Norma Hertzog Community Center and that part of the city,' Stephens said. 'And the Lions Club has the frying of the fish down to a science — no matter how strict a diet I'm on, I always take a break for a plate of fried fish.' The Costa Mesa-Newport Harbor Lions Club Fish Fry runs Friday, from 5 to 10 p.m., and on Saturday and Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., 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
