Volunteers rally behind anniversary

Deepa Bharath

It takes a village to plan a 100th birthday.

And the people who live and work in Corona del Mar are more than

ready to celebrate what is a once-in-a-lifetime event.

Close to 150 people have volunteered their time to help organize

and work the Corona del Mar Centennial Celebration this weekend, said

Miraya Llaurado, volunteer coordinator for the event.

The volunteers will set up exhibits, serve food at the mini Taste

of Newport on Sunday at the Big Corona Beach Party, organize

children’s booths and activities, assist in beach cleanup,

brainstorm, fundraise and help with parking arrangements on the day

of the event, she said.

“That’s a lot of work,” Llaurado said.

Initially she didn’t think it would take this many volunteers, she

said.

“I was surprised,” Llaurado said. “It’s a tremendous effort.”

Organizers need all the community support they can get to plan and

execute an event of such magnitude, said Beverley “BJ” Johnson, local

realtor and chairwoman of the Corona del Mar Residents Assn.

“We even need people to inform residents about the fireworks show

we’re going to have so that no one is surprised,” she said.

The challenge was to figure out how many volunteers they needed,

Johnson said.

“The thing is, this is a first-time event unlike an event like the

Taste of Newport, where you know what it’s going to take,” she said.

“But I did think we’d get the volunteers we needed, because people

would want to be a part of it. After all, it’s something that happens

once in 100 years.”

She is thankful for the city’s generosity of spirit in allowing

Corona del Mar to have its own centennial, Johnson said.

“I did expect a good response from the community, because we’re

all glad we had a chance to do this,” she said. “It’s nice to be set

apart and have ours before the city’s centennial.”

The beach was a natural venue for the events, Johnson said.

“Many families came here and settled down here because of the

beach,” she said. “The beach is our biggest attraction, and we wanted

the community to look at and enjoy what’s in their backyard.”

The response is getting better closer to the day of the centennial

celebration, Llaurado said.

“The more and more people learn about it, the more positive

reaction we seem to be getting,” she said. “It’s just a wonderful way

to bring the community together.”

* DEEPA BHARATH is the enterprise and general assignment reporter.

She may be reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at

[email protected].