Heroes Hall Featured at Costa Mesa Celebration
By C. MacDonald
Costa Mesa had a free Independence Day Celebration, which featured the legacy of military veterans, music concerts, animals & crops at Centennial Farm as well as spectacular fireworks.
Highlighting the popular event was the magnificent Heroes Hall—California’s first veterans museum focusing on the stories of our veterans. It is located on OC Fair & Event Center property, which was part of the Santa Ana Army Air Base, where, between 1942-46, 150,000 military personnel were processed, including 85,252 pilots!
“We wanted to bring the community together for a safe 4th of July, so the city worked with the Orange County Fair Board, the new Heroes Hall, the OC Marketplace and sponsors to make this happen,” said Costa Mesa City Councilman John Stephens (pictured in photo.)
In three weeks, he was able to lead the successful effort to come up with $50,000 needed to create the first of what he hopes to be an annual event.
The sponsors included a diverse group:
- CJ Segerstrom & Sons
- Comcast Spectator
- Travel Costa Mesa
- PETA
- Lions Club
- LA Chargers — the football team practices across the street from the fairgrounds this summer at Jack Hammett Sports Complex in Costa Mesa.
LA Chargers Practice Dates
Go online to reserve your spot to watch: chargers.com/schedule/training-camp-schedule
- July 30-August 4, 2017 daily
- August 7-8
- August 11
- August 15-18 daily
- August 22
Orange County Fair Dates
- July 14-August 13, 2017, ocfair.com
- Wednesday-Friday 12 p.m.-12 a.m.
- Saturday-Sunday 11 a.m.-12 a.m.
- Monday-Tuesday closed
