Cloudy skies didn’t seem to dampen the holiday for about 20,000 people who celebrated Independence Day at Mission Viejo’s July 4th Street Faire and fireworks spectacular on Olympiad Road between Marguerite Parkway and Melinda Road.
The fun-filled family event brought a steady stream of folks who enjoyed live entertainment by Blind Alley; Grand Junction; and Beyond Reason. Area youth bands – The Dreams, Bad Fur Day and Whiplash – rocked the house while residents perused 50 craft booths and nibbled on delectable treats from local non-profit groups that served up an array of tasty fare. The rides appealed to all ages – and tiny tots enjoyed playing in the “Firecracker Fun Zone.” Of course, the highlight of the event was the fireworks show that illuminated the Mission Viejo sky.
“The Mission Viejo Activities Committee was proud to be able to offer such a spectacular day,” said Cathy Allen, chair of the committee’s July 4th event.
For more information about Mission Viejo Activities Committee events, visit www.mvactivities.com.
This was our second year going and I have a couple of suggestions. I love the idea of a street fair but honestly, it was way too crowded to be enjoyable. Perhaps there is a better street that is longer or wider? The rides were too expensive. We are saving our money for the OC Fair. $4 per ride is crazy. It would be nice if the city chipped in some more to lower the price of the rides or make them free. The rides also took up too much room. The shuttle was great except that we had to wait 30 minutes for the darn thing. There were even a few of them but they must of been on break or something.
My family and I have been going to the lake for over 14 years, and we have celebrated the 4th of July for many of those years at the Lake. I think it would be beneficial and way less confusing if the City of MV would cover all the No Parking Signs on Marguerite Parkway during the 4th of July. We waited in what we thought was the line for the Lake entrance for over 25 minutes only to realize that the majority of cares lined up were actually parking cars where the signs posted clearly said “NO PARKING ENTIRE BLOCK”. We had reserved a party boat for our family and another family at 8:30 a.m. and wanted to get into the lake to drop our items at the beach and then enjoy our time on the lake. There was clearly a police presence when we left the lake but there was no police presence that morning to help direct and monitor the traffic.
Wish there had been OC Sherrif presence on Alicia Parkway at the lake’s border during the fireworks show (and before). People parked their cars along the lake side (no parking area) and then people just stopped and parked in the right driving lane! It was very dangerous for those of us just driving through from RSM to MV that evening. Many cars were coming at the regular speed of 45 miles per hour and had to slam on their breaks as they found the stopped cars in their lane (it was getting dark, no lights on the parked cars). Also many people crossing in the middle of the road just expecting people to stop for them, we were coming around a corner at a high speed and did not expect to have people walking across. Very scary for the drivers. It is a good place to see the fireworks I guess, but would appreciate MV getting OC SHerrif’s out there or close the street.
I agree with Debra, $4 per ride was too expensive. We walked through and left, without spending anything. Maybe just charge a small fee at the entrance like $2 or so each, and then make the rides free. If you could open the street up a bit more, it would be less crowded.