Latest news with #FishFry
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
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore to speak at Detroit NAACP dinner later this month
BALTIMORE — Weeks after returning from South Carolina, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore will hit the road again — this time as a featured speaker at the Detroit NAACP Dinner on Sunday, June 29. Moore's senior press secretary, Carter Elliott, told The Baltimore Sun Friday that the governor 'believes it's important as the only Black governor' to speak to 'one of the oldest NAACP chapters in the country.' Elliott added that the governor's reelection campaign funds will cover the cost of his trip to Michigan, meaning Maryland taxpayers are not directly on the hook. Moore has not yet officially filed to run for another term in 2026, but has more than $4 million in cash on hand. Though Moore has publicly maintained he is 'not running' for president in 2028, his Detroit dinner speech marks another appearance in a state with a relatively early and important Democratic primary. In late May, Moore headlined the South Carolina Democratic Party's Blue Palmetto Dinner and attended Rep. Jim Clyburn's 'World Famous Fish Fry' — both historically important events for Democratic candidates seeking to woo the state's large base of Black voters. Michigan is home to auto manufacturing titans like Ford and General Motors, which employ thousands of blue-collar workers whose votes carry considerable weight nationally. More narrowly, the Detroit metropolitan area has a high population of Arab and Muslim Americans who traditionally vote for Democrats but largely soured on the party last year amid the ongoing war in Gaza. Moore told Politico theme of his speech will be 'the work of repair' — perhaps a catch-all term for his economic agenda since taking office in 2023. 'The theme of the speech is going to be the work of repair, and it's really highlighting some of the work we are doing here in the state of Maryland that we're really proud of,' Moore told the outlet. 'There is no state that has moved with a sense of urgency to be able to do the work of repair like the state of Maryland the past two years.' The word 'repair' has been used in a different context by Black Baltimore leaders like Rev. Dr. Robert Turner, who criticized Moore's May 16 veto of a bill that would have studied reparations for slavery in Maryland. The reparations issue prompted a South Carolina lawmaker, state Rep. John King, to call for Moore to be disinvited from the Blue Palmetto Dinner before the governor ultimately headlined the event. Moore's trip to the Detroit NAACP is not his only upcoming appearance that will address issues impacting the Black community. He has said he will visit Maryland's Eastern Shore on Juneteenth next Thursday to announce a plan to end the state's racial wealth gap. ---------------
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
South Carolina's first-in-the-nation primary status looks fraught as Dems sour on Biden
COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA — Democrats here took a vital first step in delivering Joe Biden the presidency five years ago. Now, they're hoping his tarnished legacy won't jeopardize their future as an early primary state. Already, there are hints some Democrats will revert to New Hampshire holding the party's initial primary contest, while progressives want to see labor-heavy Nevada take the lead. And there's even talk of friendlier southern states, like Georgia or North Carolina, leapfrogging South Carolina. 'The unfortunate part is, Democrats are saying that, and they think that [South Carolina leading] is a bad part of Biden's legacy,' said Bre Booker-Maxwell, a national committeewoman, Saturday on the sidelines of the state party's convention. She questioned the rationale of such a decision, before answering herself. 'The fact that the man ran the second time, and he probably shouldn't have run?' she asked skeptically. 'Some people just need to get over themselves and whatever issues they have with Joe Biden.' Attempts to move past Biden and the bad aftertaste of 2024 got underway this weekend as state party insiders hosted a pair of out-of-state governors with obvious, but still publicly undeclared, sights on the 2028 nomination. Govs. Wes Moore of Maryland and Tim Walz of Minnesota took turns gracing the outdoor stage while onlookers feasted on whiting filet on white bread, at the World Famous Fish Fry, an annual tradition hosted by the state's Democratic kingmaker, Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.). Walz, the first to greet the crowd, spoke of the missteps from the last cycle and Democrats needing to expand their reach beyond a handful of swing states. 'I went to the same seven damn states over and over and over,' Walz said. 'People are pissed off in South Carolina, they're pissed off in Texas, they're pissed off in Indiana. … We need to change the attitude, compete in every district, compete for every school board seat.' Moore, who earlier Friday delivered the keynote address at the state party's Blue Palmetto Dinner, drew cheers from the mostly Black attendees of the fish fry when he said 'we come from a resilient culture' and encouraged them not to run in the face of challenge. He then pivoted to Trump and the havoc his so-called big beautiful bill would create if passed, which Moore suggested would push tens of thousands of kids into poverty while enriching the president's billionaire buddies. Once speeches wrapped, several in the crowd broke into line dance while South Carolina crooner 803 Fresh's campaign anthem 'Boots on the Ground' blared over loudspeakers. It was not the rip-roaring affair of 2019 when a cavalcade of 21 presidential candidates — including Biden — wooed attendees with stump speeches. Friday night's gathering at the EdVenture Children's Museum was held as many Democrats are still grappling with the pain of widespread electoral defeats. Biden's return to the national spotlight — through negative coverage detailing how those in his inner circle shielded the president's deteriorating condition from the outside world — has only resurfaced some long-held misgivings about his legacy. 'All this talk about President Biden and what should have and what could have, what might have, is a bunch of bullshit,' said Trav Robertson, a longtime Democratic operative and former chair of the state party. 'We can peck that to death if you want to, but that is in the past. South Carolina represents going into the future.' South Carolina, a state where Black Democrats make up a substantial portion of primary voters, played a pivotal role resurrecting Biden's moribund campaign. When Clyburn threw his support behind Biden ahead of the South Carolina primary in 2020, it vaulted him to the nomination and later, the presidency. In return, Biden pressured the Democratic Party to upend its traditional nomination calendar by moving the state to the lead-off position. But that electoral situation was tenuous. By running for reelection, Biden sapped energy out of the 2024 primary. Now, party officials are bracing for its status as the kickoff state to be ripped away. 'I think it would be a mistake to act like South Carolina's place [at the top] is just because of Biden, when this has been a conversation we've been having for 20 years,' said Nick Sottile, an attorney and executive director of the South Carolina House Democrats. Like nearly every Democrat in the state, he points out the benefits of South Carolina are vast. In addition to paying homage to a vital Democratic voting bloc, the small state with relatively cheap media markets won't bankrupt campaigns, which can hit upstate, midlands and the coast — a mix of urban, suburban and rural areas — all on a single tank of gas. Then there's the robust defense of South Carolina primary voters' history of picking presidents — Bill Clinton in 1992, Barack Obama in 2008 and Biden in 2020 — particularly in contrast to New Hampshire and Iowa. 'We get it right, and it's a proven track record,' Sottile added. 'It's not one election and one candidate that we're talking about.' That feeling is not shared by many outside the state. A longtime member of the DNC's committee that helps determine the presidential primary order granted anonymity to discuss informal discussions suggested South Carolina's current spot atop the calendar will undoubtedly come under scrutiny in the coming months. 'Clearly South Carolina members will want to continue to be first in the calendar for obvious reasons,' the person said. 'I think that no one else is going to feel any kind of obligation to keep South Carolina at the top of the calendar — because Biden is gone.' Biden may have unintentionally shattered South Carolina's standing next cycle, which only adds to a sense of betrayal over his role in ushering in another Trump presidency. 'There are people who are just mad as hell about everything that happened in 2024,' said Sam Skardon of Charleston. He admits he was one of the few in the state party who believed Biden's promise to be a 'bridge' candidate to the next generation. He took the job as chair of the Charleston County Democrats in March 2023 hoping to preside over a robust primary. A month later, Biden announced his reelection bid. 'There's a special connection here that's a deeper attachment, I think, than most states' Democratic Parties have to President Biden, probably up there with Delaware for thinking of him as our own,' Skardon added. 'But yeah, then there is additional anger, I think, at Biden for … not not letting us put our best foot forward.' Some believe Biden is simply too convenient a scapegoat for the party's broader problems. Backpedaling on giving Black voters more of a say in picking the party's nominee could erode trust in a bloc that's already drifting away from the party. 'It is a slap in the face … to Black Americans, where people are questioning Joe Biden at this point,' said Antjuan Seawright, a Democratic strategist who resumed his role as emcee of the fish fry. 'It was Joe Biden who had the steel spine, the guts and the courage to declare that Black Americans' voices should be heard first in the presidential preference process.' But Seawright also shared concerns that too many voters here view Democrats as out of touch. 'I think trust was a part of the formula for Trump's success in the last election cycle,' Seawright added. 'You had some people who, in my opinion, did not necessarily vote for Donald Trump, they voted against the Democratic brand.' At the Palmetto Dinner, Jaime Harrison, the chair emeritus of the Democratic National Committee and Orangeburg, South Carolina, native revved up the crowd by putting a positive spin on the party's standing in state since Biden left the stage. 'We are more organized, we are more energized, and we are more focused than ever before,' he said, heaping praise on the state's party chair Christale Spain who was elected to a second term on Saturday. 'I am going to be on record right now to the South Carolina Republican Party, 2026 is going to be a reckoning.' Amanda Loveday, a Democratic strategist based in Columbia who worked on Biden's 2020 presidential campaign, is another South Carolina defender. But she is less optimistic given South Carolina's Democrats, who have long been locked out of power in the state, suffered setbacks last cycle. 'We lost [state] Senators and House members that we have absolutely no business losing,' Loveday said, which included two prominent Black lawmakers including state Sen. Gerald Malloy and state Rep. Joseph Jefferson. Republicans flipped four state Senate seats last cycle, leaving just 12 Democrats in the chamber. And in the presidential election, Trump's victory was never in doubt, but he increased his margin by 6 percentage points over 2020. All this is fueling speculation that South Carolina's neighbors — North Carolina and Georgia — which have notched statewide wins for Democrats in recent cycles, have better arguments to hurdle South Carolina in the primary calendar.
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Potential 2028 presidential hopefuls steal show at Fish Fry, Dem weekend
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore speaks at Jim Clyburn's Fish Fry on Friday, May 30, 2025. (Photo by Shaun Chornobroff/SC Daily Gazette) COLUMBIA — Minutes before 10 p.m. Friday, after Democratic speakers led the audience in jeers to Republicans' efforts to slash jobs and health care and encouraged people to get involved and vote, line dancing broke out. That mix of politics and fun, mostly the latter, is what makes U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn's annual fish fry in the state's capital city so popular, attendees said. 'We all came out, and everybody's enjoying themselves,' said Shantell Zimmerman, 58, of Columbia. 'It brings out the community,' agreed Dionne Brown, 55, of Irmo, who's been attending the event for six years. 'Then we actually get to discuss our views and takeaways.' Hundreds of people attended the event that started in 1992, the year voters first elected Clyburn to the 6th Congressional District, as a thank you to the voters who couldn't afford the Democratic Party's high-dollar fundraisers. Over time, the 'World Famous Annual Fish Fry' — which includes free food and drinks — has become a must-attend event for Democrats seeking local, statewide and national office. This year was no different, even if Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz — Kamala Harris' 2024 running mate — said they're not running for the 2028 nomination. 'I know I'm not running,' Moore told reporters Friday. 'But the thing I'm also very clear about is that anyone who's talking about 2028 is not taking 2025 very seriously.' Moore and Walz, as well as Clyburn and former Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison of Columbia, emphasized the importance of focusing on what's happening now in Washington, D.C. Proposed cuts to government safety nets like Medicaid and billionaire Elon Musk's efforts to rapidly slash federal spending were among the topics the governors touched on Friday during speeches at the fish fry, as well as the Blue Palmetto Fundraising Dinner the same night. 'I taught school long enough to know it's because they're weak and they're bullies, and when you stand up to them, they fade away,' said Walz, a former high school geography teacher. While both declined that they're running for president, there's wide speculation otherwise. Their addresses at the events in South Carolina — which last year got promoted from holding the Democratic Party's first-in-the-South to first-in-the-nation presidential primary — sounded a lot like campaign speeches. Walz will also speak Saturday at the state Democratic Party's annual convention. Lucy Owens, an Anderson County delegate to the state convention, discounted the governors' refusals, saying the 2028 presidential campaign has clearly begun. 'They're all going to come through here. They're the first ones,' she said. In 2019, the fish fry drew more than 20 potential candidates hoping to appeal to South Carolina Democrats. The following year, Joe Biden won the South Carolina Democratic primary, a victory that ended up vaulting him to the presidency. South Carolina's primary was elevated for 2024 as Biden's thank you to the state. With Biden gone, the Democratic party in flux, and Harrison no longer leading the national party, South Carolina maintaining its first-in-the-nation status is in question. Clyburn's comments Friday suggest he knows it won't. He doesn't care if the state is first, just that it's early, he said. 'The most important hitter on a team is the cleanup hitter. He comes in fourth place,' Clyburn told reporters at his event. 'I'm not concerned about whether or not we're first, second, third. Please, let us be at least four,' he said. That would take South Carolina back to having the first primary in the South. In the aftermath of Trump's landslide victory and the Republican Party gaining control of both chambers of Congress, the Democratic Party is in a reset. Walz and Moore, the first Black governor in Maryland's history, are among the early faces of it. Winning South Carolina, which changed the trajectory of Biden's 2020 presidential run, will be crucial for Democratic hopefuls. Owens, the Anderson County delegate, pointed to the stage where Walz and Moore spoke, saying every Democrat who wants to be president will eventually appear in that exact spot. 'They got to come through here. Not South Carolina. They got to go right there,' she said. Both governors received raucous ovations from South Carolina Democrats, drawing cheers, standing ovations and even a few laughs as they took shots at the GOP. Owens said 'they're both very great candidates,' and she's 'excited' to hear more from them over the coming years. That was the general consensus from attendees who spoke with the SC Daily Gazette. However, they were significantly more familiar with Walz because of his time on the campaign trail last year with Vice President Harris. 'I know less about Wes Moore than I do about Tim Walz, but I think he's a good speaker,' said Laura Lowery, a 69-year-old from Fountain Inn. 'I think he's done a good job in his state as well.' Moore has recently come under fire for vetoing a bill that would establish a commission to examine state and federal policies from 1877 to 1965 and come up with recommendations for reparations. South Carolina Rep. John King, D-Rock Hill, asked the state party to remove Moore as the keynote speaker of Friday's Blue Palmetto Dinner. Party leaders never responded to questions about that request. But for at least some attendees, the veto perturbed them too. 'I didn't understand why he would do that,' said Tony Winbush of Anderson. But once Winbush, a 50-year-old Army veteran, heard Moore speak about his time in the Army, as well as his pardoning of 175,000 cannabis convictions, her opinion changed. 'I think when you don't know the whole story and you just listen to sound bites, which is what we do a lot, we'll make brash judgments about people, when we are really fighting the same fight,' she said.
