University City is like any small town in Iowa or New England in August — except the weather is better. It’s not likely to rain on Saturday, Aug. 4, when 300-feet of tables are set out at Standley Park for the 31st annual Banana Split, a gift to the community from the Heimburger family, Jorgen and Margit and their adult son, Carsten, who now runs the dairy business the senior Heimburgers started. Ice cream of all flavors will be scooped out by volunteers. Syrups and sprinkles will decorate the hundreds of banana splits, but don’t forget to bring your own banana. All the action begins at Standley Park, 3168 Governor Drive at 2 p.m. It’s free for folks from 1 to 100 and not to be missed. On Sunday, Aug. 5, the University City Community Association will honor the hundreds of volunteers who deliver the UCCA monthly newsletter. Standley Park’s gazebo will see a celebration of sorts with food and fun at 3:30 p.m. when the newsletter distributors and coordinators come to a party in their honor. No worries about humidity or 100-degree temperatures, the way meteorologists might scare away the summer crowds in a tiny town in Iowa. Later that Sunday evening, “Relatives, Minors, and Friends,” will provide classic rock music with a band from U.C.’s own Greg Zinser. It is all happening at Standley Park from 5 to 7 p.m. The summer concerts are sponsored by the UCCA, District 1 City Councilwoman Sherri Lightner’s office and Scripps Healthcare. Bands will perform for the rest of the Sundays in August. University City strives to keep its identity alive and well with activities that promote the U.C. name, but the community often is mistaken as La Jolla. In spite of the University City brand being featured at Standley Park on a regular basis, the new apartment buildings that front Governor Drive at Pavlov have been named La Jolla Del Rey. Many U.C. residents feel slighted by the insensitivity of the owners/builders going against the U.C. community with that identity theft. U-T San Diego columnist Diane Bell once wrote about the renaming of University City as La Jolla. She concluded with this: “However misleading, it’s not against the law for businesses in University City’s Golden Triangle (bordered by I-5, I-805, and Highway 52) to splash the La Jolla name across the front doors. At best, it’s confusing. At worst, it’s a case of community identity theft. This is clearly an issue, not for the courts, but for the agendas of city planners, business leaders and neighborhood watchdogs.” Perhaps the “watchdogs of University City” should be unleashed on the apartment buildings these August days to picket the choice of names. In the meantime, University City will host some great events at the park, and La Jollans are invited.
