EVERYONE SHOULD GO TO GT COMMUNITY DAY

Residents step up for Grand Terrace Community Day
Stephen Wall, Staff Writer
Posted: 09/10/2009 03:59:28 PM PDT

GRAND TERRACE - When Shad and Raina Boal found out the city's signature event wouldn't happen this year, they took matters into their own hands.
The couple decided to put on a smaller-scale community fair to replace the annual Grand

Terrace Days, which was traditionally held in June but was canceled this year for budgetary reasons.

Grand Terrace Community Day is 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Richard Rollins Community Park.

"We were saddened by the news," said Raina Boal. "They said it wasn't in the budget and they didn't have the money to do it. We said, 'Let's do it anyway. We can make it happen."'

Instead of the city taking the lead, as had been the case in years past, dedicated residents organized a grass-roots effort to get donations from businesses and organizations to pay for the event.

This year's event will cost about $20,000 - about half the amount of last year's Grand Terrace Days.

Grand Terrace Days had a parade that attracted the likes of Burt Ward, who starred as Robin in the original Batman television series. Ward was grand marshal of the parade in 2006.

Saturday's event will be more back-to-basics, with a car show put on by the Grand Terrace Lion's Club, a pancake breakfast to benefit firefighters and a host of other fun activities. The pancake breakfast is 7 a.m. to noon at Fire Station #23, 22582 City Center Court.

There will be a watermelon-eating contest, water- balloon toss, a professional dog show, performances by dance groups, a health and safety fair and a "kids zone" to teach children about recycling and conservation.

Even though this year's event is smaller than in the past, Councilwoman Lee Ann Garcia said it will help bring the community together.
"It's important that we keep our traditions going even in tough economic times," Garcia said.

stephen.wall@inlandnewspapers.com, (909) 386-3916


FYI
For more information about Grand Terrace Community Day, call (909) 430-2201 or visit www.cityofgrandterrace.org.

In years Past the Parade didn't "Attract" such people as Burt Ward, or Little Rickey... or the Bands ... the City PAID for them to come. Well, perhaps not the city... there was a FUND of "Donations" from Developers and Businesses that was solicited and "managed" by Steve Berry. There has never been a full accounting of donations and expenses, nor an itemized account for City Employee Time Spent on the Steve Berry Party Style of GT DAYS or Halloween Haunt.

More Expensive, Bigger, Louder is not always an improvement... Thank Goodness that GT Days is in Citizens Hands. We'll have a nice day and not all the expense and the possible corruption that the Need for "Donations" from Developers with projects pending before the Planning Commission, or City Council.

The Donations for this GT Days can't be tied to any Pending Regulatory Decisions. That is worth celebrating.