Fish was flying in Costa Mesa, as 75th Lions Club’s Fish Fry returned to original venue

The fish was flying at Lions Park this weekend, as the Costa Mesa-Newport Harbor Lions Club celebrated the return of the city’s annual Fish Fry with games, rides, live entertainment and plenty of fish dinners, all for a good cause.

Festivities went off without a hitch at the city’s newly renovated Lions Park, aka Airplane Park, which accommodated a beer and wine garden and dining area, as well as a Ferris wheel and other rides for the young at heart Friday through Sunday.

Lions Club member and organizer Joan Parks reported a healthy attendance with only five fish dinners remaining Sunday as of 8 p.m.

“We had lots of people who wanted fish dinners after that — we had to turn people away,” Parks said Monday while taking a recovery day from the weekend’s activities.

Locals attended the 75th annual Fish Fry in Costa Mesa’s Lions Park, which returned Friday through Sunday after a two-year hiatus.

(Spencer Grant)

Several organizations and local agencies hosted booths, where they handed out information and giveaway prizes. Dean Tompkins — who runs the online multimedia platform “I Heart Costa Mesa” — sold city-themed merchandise, including T-shirts, stickers and embroidered hats advertising westside Costa Mesa.

The items were so popular, Tompkins said Monday he stayed up late Friday and Saturday nights creating more merchandise, a sacrifice he was glad to make.

“Burrowing Owl” Terry Welch explains the preservation of Banning Ranch to Valentina Romo, 3, Saturday at the Lions Club Fish Fry in Costa Mesa.

(Spencer Grant)

“I grew up going to the Fish Fry at Airplane Park,” said Tompkins, who also owns ThunderKing Coffee on 17^th Street. “It’s such a huge part of my childhood and my friends’ childhoods. We all loved it and had a good time.”

One booth, however, remained conspicuously empty on Saturday afternoon. A grill tent advertising hamburgers and hot dogs for sale and run by the Estancia High School baseball team had no one to run it, thanks to that day’s CIF State Southern California Regional Division V championship game, during which the Eagles beat Baldwin Park in a stunning 11-2 win.

“When we found out they won, we made a big announcement and everybody roared,” Parks said. “[On Sunday], you couldn’t get the kids to wipe the grins off their faces. They were in seventh heaven.”

A quizzical Ron Morse contemplates his $15 fish dinner Saturday at the Fish Fry at Lions Park in Costa Mesa.

(Spencer Grant)

For Tompkins the Fish Fry is not only a good time, but a family tradition. His grandfather and uncles were Lions Club members, and the family operated a dime toss booth back in the day. To honor that proud lineage, Tompkins wore his grandfather’s apron throughout the weekend.

The annual event has gone through several different iterations since its debut in 1946, including a migration from Lions Park to Fairview Park in 2012 and back again.

In 2020 and 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic put a halt to the festivities, and a reorganization of the club’s membership brought some new leaders into the fold. While this year’s fry was somewhat scaled back from previous years, organizers say they hope to continue on this year’s work in the years ahead.

“Without a doubt we want to have it next year,” Parks said.

Costa Mesa city staffers Bella Espinoza, Julie Nguyen, Lizbeth Gomez and Vicente Martinez try out hula hoops and skip rope Saturday at the 75th Lions Club Fish Fry at Lions Park.

(Spencer Grant)

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