Submitted by Brad Gerbel
I knew 92118 Day was going to be a great success when I saw the extraordinary attention to detail that went into the planning and community outreach, prior to the event. The organizers went to extraordinary lengths to make this a purely local event: no reaching out to media on the other side of the bridge to publicize the event; rather, the focus was on local bands, local nonprofits, and local vendors.
Last Friday night I saw Coronadans of all ages in attendance. I saw lots of hugs, old friends greeting each other, children enjoying the beach games, and community pride was on full display. I bumped into my neighbors from across the street and old high school friends that returned home for the day.
The event’s organizers, Steve Johnson, Alisa Kerr and Rob Crenshaw, are due a big thank you from our community. They spent over a year putting the event together and did it all for free. I know they also had a large team of volunteers who helped make 92118 Day such a great success. Among the volunteers were members of the Beer Club, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, US Navy, Rotary, Optimist Club, Coronado Fire Dept., Coronado Police Dept., City of Coronado Recreation Dept., City of Coronado Arts Dept…and many more.
The City of Coronado helped make the event a success: the police department was on hand to keep the event safe and without any incidents. Our City Manager Blair King and members of the City Council had a big role in making the day a success when they backed such a unique event to promote community pride.
Thanks also to the homeowners on Ocean Blvd and Isabella Ave who graciously allowed this event take place in front of their beautiful homes.
Coronado hosts some very great events, but this is perhaps my favorite event of my lifetime because it was a celebration of US. It was uniquely Coronado. It was a day I won’t soon forget.
Brad Gerbel
