Come to the Oceanside Fall Festival this weekend

In celebration and recognition of the Oceanside community and its many advocates, the new community organization Oceanside Unified will host the hamlet’s first Fall Festival on Saturday, from noon to 9 p.m. It will take place at Parking Field 6, on Lawson Boulevard, between Weidner and Perkins avenues, ushering in a season filled with solidarity, harvest and entertainment.

Oceanside Unified comprises representatives of several Oceanside community groups, including the Kiwanis Club, the Chamber of Commerce and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Oceanside Unified seeks to bring the organizations together to organize local events and promote the groups’ own activities.

The festival will feature an afternoon full of games, including a video game truck, a rock climbing wall, contests and other interactive games for people of all ages to enjoy. The event will also highlight several local vendors, including 10 food trucks, serving a variety of delicious food and refreshments. Music from DJ Pace, Permission to Launch, the Damn Good Time Band and local talent from the community will also be on hand to entertain the crowds.

Led by the Oceanside Community Warriors, the organization that cleans up outdoor and public spaces in Oceanside, the event has also gained the support of many local allies, including the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and students from Oceanside High School.

Joey Cibelis, a member of the Warriors and the chamber, said that the festival would be a great opportunity to promote fellowship between residents and community organizations.

“Even though the Warriors are spearheading the event, we actually took a little bit from everybody from every part of the community,” Cibelis said. “It’s called Oceanside Unified because it takes more than just one organization to have a true community festival.”

He added that he appreciates the support the festival has received from local politicians and police and fire departments, noting “Oceanside hasn’t had something like this in a long time.”

Brian Driscoll, also a member of the Warriors and the chamber, said he envisions that the festival will draw the attention of Oceanside High School students and entrepreneurs looking to promote their businesses.

“Hopefully, it’s a very good turnout,” Driscoll said. “We have the school supporting us, we’re pushing this with the community. We’ve had several businesses, local organizations that want to set up tables that are all coming out, so we’re hoping we get a real good showing.”

Students from Oceanside will also be invited to perform the national anthem to kick off the festivities. The Fall Festival will also take place on the same day as Oceanside’s Homecoming, as school administrators have agreed to make announcements encouraging families and students to attend the festival later on in the day.

In addition to fostering support for various groups in Oceanside, Raymond Litwin, quartermaster for VFW Post 5199, reinforced the post’s need for community involvement in order to stay alive. He highlighted how VFW’s participation in the festival can also bring in new veterans and members for the VFW Auxiliary-National Organization.

“The more people see us, the more we can recruit veterans that want to join, but maybe don’t realize that they can,” Litwin said. “That’s the only way for us to survive because without the memberships and the people who are working for this, we end up just disappearing. That’s why a lot of posts have closed and it’s so important to keep them going.”

Litwin also encouraged new members to personally contact him or visit the post location for more information, or if they wish to join.

“We just want to put the word out that they’re always welcome at our post to come and help or to join,” he said. “It’s a building here to serve people for parties or get-togethers, or just to play cards. It’s a functioning post that needs as much attention as possible.”

As Oceanside Unified gears up to bring the town together in this celebration, Driscoll said he also expected the Fall Festival to be among the many memorable local traditions that residents could look forward to.

“We want to, at some point, throw a firework show in town, get it lit up for the holidays, where there’s decorations all over,” Driscoll said.

“I mean, this is the first of many things that we’re looking to get going. So hopefully this kicks off and we’re able to get everything that we want for the future and more.”