Coronado Cays park was filled with hundreds of residents and friends of the Cays on Saturday Sept. 28, as they celebrated the Cays turning 50 in style. With events for the entire family, from bounce houses, face painting, soccer and a dunk tank for the kids, to bands and a beer and wine garden for adults, everyone seemed to have a good time. Daron Case, one of the organizers and longtime Cays resident, shared his thoughts on the day saying, “I feel the event went smooth as could be and everyone had a blast – smiles and fun all around. [It was a] Wonderful community event celebrating the Coronado Cays and benefiting my alma mater Silver Strand Elementary School.” When asked how it went so smoothly with only a few months of planning Case credited Lance Rodgers (one of the other organizers) with making it a success.
Local vendors lined the sidewalk selling everything from artwork to street signs to beauty products and locally themed clothing to honor the celebration. “The vendors did a wonderful job producing shirts, hats and other merchandise that reflected the celebration,” said Brandon Hammond, a Kingston Village resident.
With a start time of 2pm, people began marking their spots on the grass in front of the stage where In Midlife Crisis and Side Traxx would would perform hits from the last 50 years. At 3 pm, Cays resident and Coronado City Manager, Blair King, kicked off the event by sharing some of the history of the Cays and thanking the coordinators for putting together the event in such a short period of time.
Lance Rodgers’ daughter Eva sang the National Anthem and then Mayor Richard Bailey made remarks to the crowd. After the formal remarks were completed, the party began as the bands started their performance.
Throughout the day folks shared posts on social media documenting the good time they were having.
The crowd enjoyed hearing music from one of their own, Sue Shirey, a Cays resident of Blue Anchor and singer for In Midlife Crisis. “It was wonderful to see the celebration of the Coronado Cays community enjoying a day of celebration. The music of the local bands, the food and the items for sale by vendors all made the day special,” said longtime Port Royale resident Lisa Brenden. “It would be great to see a celebration like this again in the future including having more summer concert series in the Cays. Thank you to those who were instrumental in making this event happen!”
Thanks to Tony Perri and Surf’s Up Studios for this video recap of the big event:
