Dates set for Fallbrook Summer Nights events

The Fallbrook Village Association has announced the dates for the 2018 Fallbrook Summer Nights events. They are: Friday, July 20; Friday, Aug. 3, and Friday, Aug. 17.

A favorite among locals, Fallbrook Summer Nights offer live musical entertainment, a beer and wine garden, classic cars, and food and merchandise vendors. The festive street parties are held downtown along Main Avenue and run 5-9 p.m.

Although the theme for the July 20 Fallbrook Summer Night has yet to be determined, “National Sheriff’s Night Out” will be recognized Aug. 3 and a “Salute to the Military” will be celebrated Aug. 17.

The FVA introduced a supplement to Fallbrook Summer Nights last year when it hosted three Party Off the Grid events. The small affairs were held at 139 South Main in the parking lot that separates a coffee lounge and a sports bar and featured live music, a beer and wine garden, food vendors and a kids’ zone.

Roy Moosa, president of the FVA, said the organization currently doesn’t plan to present any Party Off the Grids this summer.

“The reason is it was so labor intensive,” Moosa said. “We had to transport the stage, transport tables and chairs back and forth, set up fencing, and then take it all down and take it away. So, the thought is, if we do it (again in the future), we need to buy a storage shed and put it right near the venue so you can just pull it out, set it up and put it away.”

Moosa said the FVA may host a couple of small events in the Vince Ross Village Square before the first Fallbrook Summer Nights, July 20.

“One of the things we are thinking of doing – maybe a couple of Friday nights before the first Summer Nights – is maybe just having beer and wine and a band in the square and just that,” Moosa said. “It wouldn’t take a lot of effort, the square’s already self-contained and it would lead up to the full event. It’d be a pre-party.”

The FVA also attracted a full-scale carnival to downtown Fallbrook last year when Christensen Amusements set up shop in the Library Plaza parking lot for weekends of fun in both July and October. The carnival, featuring amusement rides and games, attracted thousands and will be back in 2018.

“The carnival was well-received by the community,” Moosa said, adding that Christensen Amusements will be back in the Library Plaza parking lot the weekend of July 6-8.

Moosa said the use of the Library Plaza parking lot as an event venue as a major breakthrough for the FVA, which recently received a grant from the county that will go toward infrastructure, such as lighting, electricity and an access ramp that is Americans with Disabilities Act compliant, for the parking lot.

“The FVA has developed a long-term plan and design to utilize the library parking lot, the Library Plaza, as a special-event venue for events like the carnival, concerts and outdoor markets,” Moosa said, adding that building a stage is part of the project.

“In order to have a town survive, revitalize itself, it has to have venues,” Moosa said. “We have the Village Square, which is good for small events, but beyond that where do you go? Here (in the Library Plaza) you can literally deal with thousands of people and it’s right in the center of town.”

Moosa said the FVA is looking forward to the completion of the first phase of the new Fallbrook Railroad Heritage Park at the intersection of Main Avenue and Elder Street. The FVA, in conjunction with the Fallbrook Historical Society, spearheaded a fundraising campaign for the development of a small park celebrating Fallbrook’s railroad history.

“Between now and summer – by June – there will be a caboose on Main Avenue,” Moosa said. “We’ve put a down payment on one, and it’s in Barstow. Our target was $65,000 and we’re at $49,000, so we’re getting close to that.”

The second phase of the Railroad Heritage Park project will include the building of a replica of the old train station that used to serve Fallbrook as well the production of many railroad heritage displays.

The mission of the FVA is “to promote and support the economic, physical and cultural revitalization of the Fallbrook area,” and Moosa is constantly striving to carry out that goal.

“I’d like to have something going on in the Village Square every Friday but we’re dealing with county regulations,” Moosa said. “So, we’re trying to meet with the county and figure out how do we do this. Other places do it.”

The FVA sponsors the Revitalization Committee meetings that are held 10 a.m. the first Thursday of each month, as well as the Fallbrook Community Forum that meets 10:30 a.m. the third Thursday of each month. Both meetings are held in the Fallbrook Public Utilities District boardroom, and everyone is invited to attend.

Moosa said FVA is always looking for volunteers to help with events. For more information, call (760) 723-8384.