Celebrating 25 Years, Happy Birthday Mission Viejo!- Margot Ferron

It was a whirlwind of excitement as crowds flocked to Oso Park, Village on the Green in Mission Viejo on Sat., July 27,2013 to enjoy a day of impressive activities, food and music.  The event drew thousands of people who walked from their homes, were bused, shuttled, rode golf carts and even hopped on the bike taxi.

This was no party of the year, but a celebration of 25 years of Mission Viejo’s incorporation as a city.   The anniversary showcased the history and rich culture of the city from 1963 to the present.  “For 3 weeks, 10-hours- a-day I compiled Mission Viejo’s history,” Bob Breton, former Mayor of Mission Viejo and current chairman of the Community Services Commission, proudly stated.  

You could take a walk down Memory Lane through the years using the story boards that captured monumental events.

More than 30 nonprofit organizations offered crafts, games, prizes and activities that kept kids as well as the adults engaged.  There was something for everyone.   A petting zoo, musical playground, hayrides, roping demonstrations, fire up the band was just a few of the montage of free, action adventures you could experience.  Even the adults got in on the hayrides and the mechanical bull.

The “Santa Ana Summer Strings” performed at 5pm.  Through a three-way partnership between Pacific Symphony, Santa Ana Unified School District and THINK Together, fourth and fifth grade students participated in a pilot program that introduces students to the violin through intensive summer instruction.

A skydiver breezed into the event in the drop zone to kickoff the evening.   Mayor Rhonda Reardon and her grandsons Eli, 6 years old and Noah, 9 years old, led the packed park in “Happy Birthday Mission Viejo” followed by an explosion of red, white and blue streamers and cupcakes for everyone.

The symphonic sounds of summer were part of the orchestra’s ninth annual “Symphony in the Cities” series sponsored by Target.   Before the musicians took the stage to play their repertoire— which included “God Bless America” and selections from Leonard Bernstein's "West Side Story" — a few of them participated in the "Musical Playground."   There were demonstrations on the French horn and violin.

Conductor Carl St. Clair taught a group of young children how to conduct.  He asked them if it was their first time hearing an orchestra.  Many replied that it was.  "You guys are way ahead of me!" he said, adding that he was 17 when he first heard a live orchestra.

Pacific Symphony, is the largest orchestra formed in the United States in the last 40 years.  With a vision for the future, the Symphony is dedicated to developing our young musicians.

If you missed the Pacific Symphony there are several ways to see it--     www.pacificsymphony.org/, www.youtube.com/user/PacificSymphonyorg.

To watch the skydiver go to cityofmissionviejo.org/MVTV, highlight video archives, in the Search put- Pacific Symphony 2011.   The skydiver is the same guy who landed for “Mission Viejo Supports Joplin, MO.”