OPINION: Fiesta strikes out at MacKenzie Park

BY CHERI RAE
DAILY SOUND COLUMNIST

It’s the beginning of August in Santa Barbara—when shouts of “Viva La Fiesta” overtake “Play Ball!” and flamenco dancers replace base runners at MacKenzie Park. It’s not enough that kids who play PONY baseball in Santa Barbara have to share the park with homeless people, party-goers and a dog obedience school. For the entire month of August they can’t play on their home fields at all.

Fiesta annually takes over the entire park and all but destroys the two kid-sized baseball fields located there. One is covered by carnival rides, the other is covered by inflatable jumping rooms; the scoreboard is obliterated by the “Cantina,” concession stands fill the outfield and a soundstage stands in foul territory. Undoubtedly, Santa Barbara is the only community in the nation that allows a pony ride concession on a PONY field. After the fields are trashed from the few days of Fiesta, it takes nearly an entire month for the re-seeded and fertilized infield and outfield to grow strong enough for the kids to safely play on them again.
PONY stands for Protect Our Nation’s Youth. Through the winter/spring season and long after, it does a pretty good job keeping kids busy and adults involved as positive role models. The same good kids who don their red-white and blue PONY “Santa Barbara All-Star” uniforms, and proudly represent their city in tournament play throughout Southern California from Sylmar to Hacienda Heights, Newbury Park to Ojai, are forced to hang up their cleats and put away their bats when Fiesta takes over the only place in the city where they can play.
Saturday morning, I witnessed volunteer parents and a group of young ballplayers who showed up for what’s supposed to be the weekly summer “Sandlot” program. Baseball-savvy dads provide free baseball instruction and practice for kids who just want to play for a couple of hours. But a group of impatient, cigar-chomping carnies claimed the park belonged to them and grumbled that the kids were in the way. Fiesta officials finally intervened and agreed to let the kids play until noon, nowhere near the four hours of fun they’d enjoyed the week before.
El Mercado del Norte at MacKenzie Park is a longtime tradition in Santa Barbara, and it’s billed as a family event—although its 11 p.m. closing extends well past every kids’ bedtime—and the presence of the “Cantina” serving beer and wine margaritas is hardly family-oriented.
But baseball tradition in Santa Barbara actually predates Fiesta. Author of the classic 1888 baseball poem “Casey at the Bat,” the legendary Ernest Lawrence Thayer, moved here in 1912; Babe Ruth played at Pershing Park, and the L.A. Dodgers farm team formerly showcased their talent on the late Laguna Ball Fields, where the City now parks a fleet of buses. It’s quite ironic that the same city that recently presented an award to the volunteer groundskeeper, Fred Cook, who works so tirelessly throughout the year to keep the PONY fields in shape, also allows the devastation of those same fields in order to accommodate Fiesta—hardly a sustainable practice.
At a time when the youth of our community are crying out for help, begging for mentors who can teach them how to be part of a team instead of a gang, it sends a bad message to kids and their parents when the city tells them to pack up their gear and go home for the rest of the summer. America’s pastime as it’s played in Santa Barbara, offers kids a chance for individual achievement, camaraderie, positive adult role models and so much more. Encouraging participation—and protecting the place to play—is one of the myriad ways we can help provide an alternative to senseless violence. Hours of skill-building and teamwork, and the satisfaction of hitting a home run can provide kids with much more lasting pleasure—and legitimate respect—than the fleeting thrill of a spin on a tilt-a-whirl.
After observing youth baseball venues ranging from fields of dreams in wealthy suburbs to scrubby fields in less-affluent places I can’t imagine a single one of them allowing their baseball parks to be overrun in the middle of the season.
Over the years, Fiesta has made many changes in venues and activities; flexibility in changing circumstances is a mark of a good organization. It’s time for Fiesta officials, City administrators and baseball folks to get on the same team, step up to the plate and hit one out of the park for the sake of the kids.
Here’s a win-win: Move El Mercado del Norte to a more suitable place—Oak Park, site of the other ethnic festivals, or Earl Warren Showgrounds, where carnival rides, inflatable slides and concession stands are right at home. Then, let’s establish a new Fiesta family tradition at MacKenzie Park: a Fiesta Baseball Tournament for local youth to compete and showcase their skills by representing their neighborhoods in a positive way.
If we have the will, there’s a way for Santa Barbara to cheer, “Viva La Fiesta” and “Viva La Beisbol,” too.