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| Park party a first-time success |
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| Written by John Saiz | Patterson Irrigator | |
| Wednesday, 09 July 2008 | |
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Patterson’s first Families in the Park Independence Day celebration drew a substantial crowd Friday. Police closed Circle Plaza to let hundreds of people take over Patterson’s downtown. “Overall, it went wonderful,” said Debbie Calcote, administrative director for the Patterson-Westley Chamber of Commerce, which sponsored the event. Barbecues, a watermelon-eating contest and three-legged races were some of the traditional activities that rung in Independence Day. Patterson residents also found a unique way to honor the signing of the Declaration of Independence: with a skateboard contest. More than 30 children participated in what is likely Patterson’s first skateboard competition. “I knew for sure it would be a hit,” said one of the competition’s organizers, Bertha Hernandez. “The kids need somewhere to hang out.” Another organizer, Tom Roscoe, said he, too, figured the young folks would show up in droves. He opens a parking lot for them once a week and usually gets about 70 skaters. “We get double the kids that showed up today,” Roscoe said. Barbecue took center stage for much of the event. Patterson’s Lion’s Club cooked up tri-tip, while the chamber offered hot dogs. “We served over 300 people,” said Lions Club member Dennis McCord. “For the first year, it was a wonderful event.” People who purchased from Patterson Lions got potato salad, corn and a roll to go with their tri-tip. The money the service club raised will go toward various community efforts and charities. “(The barbecue) makes the events better, more fun — and when the community needs stuff, the money’s there,” McCord said. The games were also a hit. “It was so much fun,” Calcote said. Winners of the various events were awarded big ribbons. “Everyone loved the ides of a good, old-fashioned ribbon,” Calcote said. All the hallmarks were there for Fourth of July festivities, except one — the big bursts of fire in the sky. “It was a little disappointing about the fireworks,” Calcote said. Worries from the city and fire department stopped the chamber from including pyrotechnics with the festivities, but organizers hope to have fireworks on the ticket next year, if Mother Nature cooperates with a milder fire season. “We’re already talking about it,” Calcote said. An early idea is to have people take their safe-and-sane fireworks to downtown, where firefighters will light them off. No matter what, Calcote said, the event as a whole will be back. “We’ve decided to do it every year,” she said. To reach John Saiz at the Irrigator, call 892-6187 or e-mail him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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