Are you ready to celebrate a birthday?
On Wednesday, June 13, Fountain Valley will celebrate its incorporation.
Back in the early ’90s, the city celebrated its incorporation with “Fiesta,” which often drew up to 60,000 people to then-Mile Square Park for carnival rides, entertainment and more.
Today, the city celebrates its beginnings with Summerfest, which this year is set for June 21-24 at the Fountain Valley Sports Park. More about that later.
Let’s talk history for a moment.
So what prompted the early movers and shakers to ask voters of the area to go to the polls and vote on incorporation?
Fountain Valley and several nearby communities sought incorporation around the same time because the city of Santa Ana had plans to take over most of the unincorporated lands. Westminster and Garden Grove, in fact, incorporated just weeks prior to Fountain Valley.
Early Fountain Valley leaders such as Jim Kanno, Jack Ellis, Charles Iishii and Joe D. Lopez wanted to keep Fountain Valley predominately as a farming community, wrote city historian Dann Gibb, in his book,” Images of America – Fountain Valley.”
In a campaign letter, titled “Remember! – Vote yes for Incorporation,” authors Ishii, Kanno, Ellis, Lopez, Robert Wardlow, Lee Hernandez, Henry Boer and the ever-popular Gladstone B. McIntosh implored voters to vote for cityhood, prompting better control of planning, using tax money appropriately and avoiding drastic changes that surrounding communities might attempt to initiate.
On June 4, the area’s voters went to the polls – about 160 of the 189 registered voters. Ninety-one voted for incorporation and 63 voted against it.
Incorporation papers were filed at the Santa Ana Courthouse, and the Orange County Board of Supervisors sent a resolution to the California Secretary of State.
It was filed and received on June 13, 1957 and Fountain Valley became the 21st city in Orange County. The city’s early leaders, in transitioning Fountain Valley from agricultural to residential, created Orange County’s first master-planned community.
Today, many of the city’s 56,000-plus residents celebrate the city’s birthday at Summerfest.
I’ll be writing a lot more about Summerfest in the coming weeks. But I can tell you the four-day celebration will feature the annual Fountain Valley Classic Car & Truck Show (on Saturday, June 23), food, great musical entertainment on two stages, lots of carnival rides and games, and a new Craft Beer Festival.
The Summer Suds Brew Fest, is set for 1-4 p.m. June 23 and will feature craft beer samplings from 20 to 30 beer vendors. The beer sampling event will include live music, food trucks and outdoor games and will be held on Field D at the Fountain Valley Sports Park.
General admission tickets are $35, which includes three hours of unlimited tastings, a commemorative tasting glass and a group photo. VIP tickets are $45 and will allow for entry to the festival one hour early, starting at noon.
The festival is for those 21 and older, and IDs will be checked.
I always look forward to Summerfest, and I should point out that my wife Lynn and I are members of the city’s Summerfest Committee, a group of community volunteers that works year-round to make sure this event is a success.
So, get ready for a great celebration!