Moorpark to Give Returning Little Leaguers a VIP Welcome

Moorpark will welcome home its championship Little League team in fine style today.

The team is scheduled to arrive at Los Angeles International Airport about 4:20 p.m. and pile into three limousines to be guided home by a California Highway Patrol escort. Upon reaching the county line, two Ventura County Sheriff’s Department patrol cars and one department motorcycle will join the procession, which is expected to reach Moorpark between 6 and 6:30 p.m.

The motorcade will exit off the Simi Valley-San Fernando Valley Freeway at Princeton Avenue, where more cars full of family members and well-wishers will join in, Moorpark Mayor Paul Lawrason said. The procession will then go down West Los Angeles Avenue to High Street, where Moorpark residents are expected to line the motorcade route with cheers, signs and banners.

After the drive down High Street, the motorcade will continue to New Los Angeles Avenue and on to Arroyo Vista Community Park on Tierra Rejada Road.

A concert in the park at 5 p.m., featuring the Hodads, will be part of the welcome-home festivities. Along with the live music and picnicking, representatives from local legislators’ offices with be on hand to praise the team, Lawrason said.

“The young men have instilled a lot of pride in this community because they put Moorpark on the map,” the mayor said. “We hope that we’ll have a really large crowd come out and celebrate their return home.”

The gutsy team battled through regional competition and into the Little League World Series at Williamsport, Pa., before falling to Panama City on Wednesday.

Parking will be available at the park and at nearby Moorpark High School. For more information, call City Hall at 529-6864, Ext. 227, or the Arroyo Vista Recreation Center at 531-9100.