The second annual Taste of Mission Beach, a fundraiser for the Play by the Bay project to upgrade playground equipment at Bonita Cove, will take place at 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday, May 14. The event is co-sponsored by Mission Beach Women’s Club and Mission Beach Town Council.
Start/end points for the food fest are Wavehouse Beach Club, at 3125 Ocean Front Walk in Belmont Park, and Saska’s Steak & Seafood, 3768 Mission Blvd. Participants should go to one of these locations and exchange their tickets for a map of participating venues. Tickets cost $30.
Participating eateries include the newly reopened Cannonball in Belmont Park, as well as Draft, The Pennant Kitchen, Mission Beach Coffee Break, Cafe Bahia, Starbucks, Kojak’s Restaurant, Sandbar Sports Bar & Grill, Marcy’s Mexican Food, Starkeys BBQ, Luigi’s at the Beach, Guava Beach, The Olive Cafe, Saska’s Steak & Seafood/Saska’s Sushi, Rosaria’s Pizza, The Swell Cafe, Oceana Coastal Kitchen and Chop Shop. The restaurants are donating the food. All profits will go toward the playground project. The roots of the restaurant walk go back one year.
“We held Taste Of last year for our Mission Beach centennial, and it was such a good event we thought we’d take it over as a fundraiser for a playground project,” said Cordelia Mendoza, event chair and a member of Mission Beach Women’s Club’s board of directors. “Not only is this an important fundraiser, the Taste of MB is letting people know about the wonderful restaurants and eateries in Mission Beach. It’s a great way to spend a fun evening with friends and family.”
Mendoza said people can ride bikes, compliments of Cheap Rentals on the Boardwalk just south of the Wavehouse, take one of the Taste of Mission Beach shuttles, board the Bahia Belle free compliments of Evans Hotels or walk.
“There are lots of ways for everyone to get around to the 18 restaurants, where they can sample a variety of delicious cuisine,” said Mendoza.
Play by the Bay seeks to raise upward of $1 million to replace aging playground equipment at Bonita Cove, across the street from Belmont Park.
“Bonita Cove playground, the area where they first found razor blades in the park 18 months ago, is a rundown, uncared-for park that hasn’t been updated since 1963,” said Maruta Gardner, a past president of Mission Beach Women’s Club. “It’s pretty bleak compared to other playgrounds: no shade or benches for parents, et cetera. It’s bleak. We decided to take that on.”
Gardner noted that the project is undoubtedly going to be expensive given that Americans with Disabilities Act requirements are going to add greatly to the cost of providing much-needed improvements there.
“The focus of this project will be to make this a park the community can be proud of,” said Gardner. “It’s at the entryway to Mission Bay coming off Islandia Bridge into Mission Beach on the left-hand side. It’s one of the first things you see. It needs to be updated, and that’s what we’re committed to doing.”
Play by the Bay has a website under construction. When finished, it will include a donation button to make it easier for people to contribute.
Nonprofit Mission Beach Women’s Club is accepting tax-deductible donations for the playground project, which Gardner said is estimated to cost anywhere between $1 million and $2 million.
“This is really a big venture,” Gardner pointed out, noting the most the club’s every raised previously was $30,000 in one day.
Gardner said the club has spoken with District 2 Councilmember Lorie Zapf and County Supervisor Ron Roberts. Both offices have pledged funds for the playground project.
“Obviously, this Taste Of event is just a drop in the bucket of what we need,” said Gardner. “But it’s a start.”
Taste Of tickets are available at mbwc.org or at Olive Café, 805 Santa Clara Place; Saskas’s Steak & Seafood, 3768 Mission Blvd.; Luigi’s at the Beach, 3210 Mission Blvd.; The Swell Café, 3833 Mission Blvd.; Kojak’s, 714 Ventura Place; and Starkey’s BBQ, 3231 Mission Blvd. Online purchasers’ names will be held at will-call at the Wavehouse.