SAN CLEMENTE : City Carnival Set for Labor Day Weekend

By ANNA CEKOLA

July 20, 1993 12 AM PT

After a nine-year hiatus, the carnival will soon be coming to town.

The San Clemente Lions Club and city Beaches, Parks and Recreation Department recently announced they will join forces to play host to a Fall Carnival over the Labor Day holiday weekend, Sept. 2-6.

“We hope to start something we can do every year,” said Phill Balliet, a Lions Club member and chairman of the carnival event. “Everyone in town really seems to be looking forward to it. . . . This will finish up a nice summer season.”

The City Council recently voted 5 to 0 to approve the partnership, which will result in the first full-scale community carnival since 1984.

In a report to the council, Bruce Wegner, director of beaches, parks and recreation, said the event is designed to pay for itself, with proceeds split between the Lions Club for its service activities and the city for recreation programs.

During the past year, city recreation officials and Lions Club members have been talking about starting a new event to close the summer tourist season and raise funds for both the city and the club, Wegner said.

Reviving a carnival for the community seemed a natural, especially given the local Lions Club partnership with the Capistrano Lions Club in putting on the annual Swallows Festival carnival in San Juan Capistrano, Balliet said.

Balliet said he estimates that about 8,000 to 10,000 people will attend the Fall Carnival, which will be held on the undeveloped Marblehead Coastal property next to Interstate 5 off Avenida Pico.

With such attendance, Balliet said, he expects the event to generate at least $5,000 for city recreation programs alone.

A private carnival company has been hired to provide games, food booths, rides for adults and children and a large main feature. There is also space available for local nonprofit organizations to set up food booths, Balliet said.

For more information on participating in the Fall Carnival, contact the city Beaches, Parks and Recreation Department at (714) 361-8263.