By TR Robertson
If you were looking for outdoor activities last Saturday in Vista you had plenty to choose from, in fact you could have made a day out of the events to enjoy and spend a little time on every single activity offered. Our early morning began in our cul-de-sac with neighbors enjoying coffee, juice and Krispy Crème Donuts as we used special sunglasses to see the “Ring of Fire” as the moon moved between the earth and the sun for the lunar eclipse. Then your day could have continued by doing some shopping at the Farmers Market, held every Saturday in the parking lots of the Vista Court House Regional Center on Melrose. After a little shopping, a short drive on the other side of Highway 78 would take you to Brangle Terrace to enjoy the Alta Vista Botanical Garden Fall Festival, opening at 10 am. Spending a little time there you could either leave around noon and go to Downtown Historic Vista between Indiana Street and Citrus Street to take part in the City of Vista 60th Anniversary Block Party, or you could have stayed a little longer at Alta Vista Gardens and then traveled to Vista Fire Station #1 for a Fire Protection event at their open house. After that you could go to the Block Party since that celebration would last until 8 pm. If all of this wasn’t enough, leaving the Block Party a little early you could go just down the street to The Vistonian to take part in the Vista Boys and Girls Club fundraiser, a Texas Hold’em Poker Tournament. You can never say that there is nothing to do in Vista.
After the lunar eclipse, my day involved covering the Alta Vista Botanical Garden Fall Festival, an annual event to kick-off the Fall season and a chance for some fun activities for the kids. Entering the Garden gates, Nancy Jones was busy meeting with volunteers from Rancho Buena Vista and Vista High Schools. The RBV Key Club, the Vista California Scholastic Federation and their Character Leaders program provided volunteer students to assist in a variety of areas for the day.
There were a number of vendor booths along the walkway. The Encina Wastewater Authority had a demonstration tent showing how wastewater was turned into drinking water. A goodie bag was available providing a shopping bag to put other items collected that day. A little further up the path Trailblend Coffee had a selection of coffees available for purchase. This Encinitas company grinds specialty beans everyday for brewing their coffee. Next to Trailblend, nine-year-old Ava R. was selling Carmel Candied Apples at her booth. Across the way the Leaf Filter Company was demonstrating how their system worked. The Water Quality Department from the City of Vista had a table with a number of hand outs about what this department does for citizens in dealing with water issues. Next to them, I had a chance to speak with Phil at his booth as he demonstrated the Puzzle Balls his wife Janie makes and sells, along with a number of other items on sale.
Vista Irrigation had a tent with members providing information about VID and next to them was Solutions for Change with volunteers available to answer questions about their program and how you could help. Beautiful gems and minerals were available from Odd Egg/Gervais Creation, a Vista company. Another Vista business, Childrens Paradise, was also in attendance to talk about their programs. Many parents were stopping by Wildling Wardrobe, foraged goods for kids, to take a look at the clothing on sale for newborn to 10-year-old children.
Heading further down the pathway in Alta Vista Garden, North County Climate Change Alliance provided a first-time tent and handouts on information about how you could get involved with helping climate change issues. Close to the Garden Shop Bernadette Carvalho’s Cards & Crafts sold one-of-a-kind greeting cards and next to her Juls Moon Creations sold beautifully designed water bottles. The Alta Vista Garden Shop was open for visitors to peruse and purchase a number of items, including turtle food, with proceeds going to support the Garden. A few snapping turtles can be found in the ponds throughout the Garden. Amigos de Vista Lions Club volunteers were heating up the grills to provide burgers and hot dogs for sale. Next to them the Alta Vista Garden volunteers were selling plants provided by Garden members with proceeds from the sales going to support Garden activities, programs and care.
One of the main activities’ visitors take part in at the Fall Festival is the Kid’s Activities in the Children’s Garden. Activities like making an Origami Bat demonstrated by VID employee Peter Kuchinsky or taking part in pumpkin painting, eggshell mosaics, rock painting, digging for worms or other activities with student volunteer assistance. One of the fun activities to also take part in is walking along the Garden fence and looking at the large number of scarecrows entered in the Scarecrow Contest. The sinning scarecrows and door prize winners were announced at 1:45 pm. Music was also provided for the day by Vic Moraga in the Palapa Patio.
Great weather, fun activities and lots of choices to make for the day was a great way to spend a Saturday in October. One of the best things about all of the events going on is how close they were to one another, making it an easy day to drive to all of the activities. Always check online with the coverage in the online paper to get information about coming events for you to enjoy.
