On-line registration is now open.  Go to www.gsjvchamber.com which is the Greater San Jacinto Chamber of Commerce.  Children between 6 and 15 years old and their parents are invited. The event is limited to 300 youths.

If you would like to be a sponsor for this event you can sign up at this web site as well.

Check-in and breakfast will be from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. and the free event will run until 11 a.m. Lunch and awards will be from 11 a.m. to 12 noon. 

This fall members of the Point Seekers Bass Club will be on hand to assist all the children.  Fish & Wildlife staff will have rods and reels for the kids and some good pointers on how to catch that big fish. 

Featured for this fall event is a watermelon eating contest for the adults. 

The event will feature:  

• A grand prize of four tickets to Disneyland for the biggest fish
• t-shirts for each child
• prizes and trophies for the biggest fish in each age category (6-10 and 11-15)
• prizes for the catching a marked fish
• pancake breakfast courtesy of the Hemet Rotary

burgers and dogs lunch courtesy of the Hemet Kiwanis Club

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A Free Kids Fishing Tournament was held at the 3 Golden Era Golf Course lakes (stocked with blue gill, bass and catfish) on Saturday the 13^TH of April.  There were over 225 kids (ages 6 to 15 years old) and they caught 165 fish.

There was an outpouring of community support to make this happen which shows how much people care to maintain a friendly, family oriented event for our children.

The Rotary Club cooked breakfast pancakes for everyone, the Hemet Kiwanis Club BBQ’ed the hamburgers and hot dogs for lunch, Cal Fire station 25 was on hand with their fire truck and mascot, Captain Cal, American Medical Response (AMR) was there for the kids, the Hemet Police Department had their vintage car on display, the Police Explorers monitors all parking and kept everyone safe, the Hemet Police Chief and assistants tabulated the winners, Grandfathers for Golf and Jeep Club members were helping the kids around the lake with many other volunteers.

This fishing tournament gave some of the children their first opportunity to fish and actually catch a fish! 

To kick off the tournament a spectacular aerobatic show was performed by Doug Medore and Dave Mundwiler in their Pitts Special planes during the National Anthem which was sung by Linda Greilich from Golden Era Productions.  

The tournament’s official Bass Master, Albert Kissinger issued the tournament rules and San Jacinto Mayor Pro Tem, Valerie Vandever acted as MC and gave the official start for the tournament.

Jace Glover won the grand prize (four tickets to Disneyland!) by catching the largest fish which was a 7.1 pound catfish.  

In the senior division the top ten runners up were presented with trophies and or medallions: 1^st place Hailey Irwin with a 5.82 pound fish, 2^nd place Nathan Williams with a 5.26 pound fish, 3^rd place Katie Irwin with a 5.07 pound fish, 4^th place Emily Frank with a 5.04 pound fish, 5^th place was Nathan Glover with a 4.9 pound fish, 6^th place was William Rathbone with a 4.9 pound fish, 7^th place was Mathew Williams with a 4.4 pound fish, 8^th place was Joey Frank with a 4.02 pound fish, 9^th place was Daniel Jaime with a 3.54 pound fish and 10^th place was Bailey Richardson with 3.29 pound fish.

In the junior division the 10 runner ups were: 1^st place Adriana Lopez  with a 5.67 pound fish; 2^nd place James Irwin with a 5.38 pound fish, 3^rd place Grace Rathbone a 5.24 pound fish, 4^th place Kenzley Rathbone with a 4.92 pound fish, 5^th place Ryleigh Nassar  with a 4.84 pound fish, 6^th place Audriana Alvarez with a 4.7 pound fish, 7^th place Devon Doty with a 4.67 pound fish, 8^th place Biagio Simioli with a 4.63 pound fish, 9^th place Giuliana Simioli  with a 4.6 pound fish and 10^th place Leighton Jordon with a 4.17 pound fish. They all received either a trophy or a medallion. 

Thanks to all of the generous support from our sponsors each kid received a t-shirt, snacks, opportunity for a raffle prize, fishing pole if needed and of course breakfast and lunch.  

Gold Sponsors:

• American Legion Post 53
• Golden Era Productions
• My City Youth
• Soboba Foundation
• Steve Di Memmo & Dr. Kristi Di Memmo.

Silver Sponsors:

• Agri-Empire Corp
• Domenigoni Brothers Ranch
• Cops 4 Kids & Communities
• HCN Bank
• Hemet Jeep Club
• Hemet Police Officers’ Association
• Hemet Valley Kiwanis Club
• Rotary Club of Hemet
• Shea Properties
• Snap On Tools
• Sysco Foods
• VJ Graphics.

Bronze Sponsors: A&S Diesel, Back’s Automotive, County Auto Machinery, Dr. Raja, Hemet Valley Recovery Center & Sage Retreat, Inland Foundation Engineering, Larry Soares Appliances, Michelle Meade Realtor, Stadium Pizza, The Thomsen Company Inc., Toliver’s Tax Service and Ur Nxt Barber Shop.

Due to popular demand a fall tournament is scheduled for Saturday the 28^th of September. 

One parent said, “Thank you for doing this for the kids in our community!”

A mother commented, “Thank you for hosting this youth tournament and providing a positive outdoor experience!”

A father said, “Sincerely, thank you guys for doing this.  Really.  It was excellent.  We all enjoyed it.  Very appreciated.  We will be back next year!”

A family commented on their way out, “We had so much fun.  We will be back in the fall for the next tournament.”

A grandfather said, “It was great to have a tournament for the kids!”

There will be another fishing tournament in the fall and the date will be announced so you sign up your children to participate in fishing plus enjoy even more activities and prizes.

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AP | Contributed

Fans who agree Disneyland is indeed the happiest place on Earth will soon be able to take home more than a souvenir.

A passionate collector has brought Disney magic to a sprawling 30,000-square-foot building in Burbank, where fans can hear birds chirping in the Enchanted Tiki Room section or giggle at the animated ghosts from the Haunted Mansion ride as they preview more than 1,500 items up for auction later this month.

Joel Magee has been building his collection of more than 6,000 items – including costumes, rare posters, and life-size vehicles from rides like Dumbo and Peter Pan – for 30 years, and he’s finally ready to share some of it with the public.

“I’m one of those guys – go big or go home. And if you don’t have the biggest, then it ain’t the best,” Magee told The Associated Press in a recent interview, as fans milled about the exhibit. Magee’s is the largest individually owned Disneyland/Disney Park collection in the world.

“It’s really kind of exciting. This is the first time that all of my things have been in the same room at the same time,” he said.

Magee is known in the collectible industry as “the toy scout,” and has amassed a huge collection of toys and Disney items. He says he watched “The Wonderful World of Disney” on TV every week as a kid but had never been to the park and never thought about collecting until he was at a toy show where he met a man selling Disneyland artifacts and got hooked.

“At the time, I couldn’t afford too much. I bought a couple of pieces, but that’s where it all began,” Magee said. “In my travels as ‘the toy scout,’ I meet people all over the country and for the last 25 years, they’ve just been bringing me all their stuff and here it is today.”

The items for sale are as small as a trading card and as large as a 1917 Model T moving van from Disneyland’s original Main Street that Magee says Walt Disney created himself.

Captions: Make sure to check out the Free “The Joel Magee Disneyland Collection” exhibit in Burbank Town Center Mall. Opens Wed-Sun 11-7pm until July 16th. Lots of awesome Disneyland memorabilia & ride vehicles!

Mike Van Eaton is the co-owner of Van Eaton Galleries, which is running the auction. He says among the most sought-after items are those from the Haunted Mansion attraction, including original stretch paintings from the elevator in the iconic ride, and a “doom buggy” – the vehicle guests ride on.

“Joel also has one of the most amazing Disney attraction poster collections in the world. He has every attraction poster ever in the park. And those are also going to do very well,” Van Eaton said.

There are items for every price point, with some starting as low as $50 – but most go way up from there.

“Some of these items, such as the Dumbo ride vehicle, may go for $200,000 to $300,000. We have trash cans from the park that may go for $5,000 or $6,000, and posters that could reach $50,000 to $60,000,” Van Eaton said.

Magee says it’s hard to choose his favorites in such a large collection but he is partial to the static props he’s brought to life.

“The Tiki birds, oh my gosh, they were piles of junk when we got them! They were worn out, pieces were missing,” Magee said. “Some good friends of mine that do a lot of work … in that field brought them all back to life better than you could ever imagine. And … people look at that and you can just see the magic in their eyes when they see them.”

The exhibition is at the Burbank Town Center Mall and runs through July 16. The auction will be held July 17 through 19.

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Good news for all Disney fans that live in California!

Disney announced on Tuesday a special ticket offer for California residents only, allowing those eligible to visit Disneyland Resort this summer for as little as $83 per day with a 3-day, 1-park per day theme park ticket.

The special offer comes as the theme park celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, marking the special milestone with unique experiences, entertainment, and more.

Three-day, 1-park per day tickets start at $249 for admission Mondays through Thursdays, or as low as $299 ($100 per day) for admission any day – including weekends – for eligible guests.

The limited-time tickets are available for purchase beginning June 6, 2023, and California residents may redeem their tickets on any three eligible days from June 12 through Sept. 28, 2023, subject to park reservation availability.

Valid admission and park reservation for the same park on the same date are required for park entry.

Those interested in purchasing tickets can visit disneyland.com or by calling (866)572-7321.

Find your latest news here at the Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle

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It was determined that about $7,500 needed to be raised to make the trip a reality as the school planned to cover the admission price for each of its 60+ students and an adult family member to accompany them. The Bingo Night raised $7,359 and after adding that to monies raised from a few earlier and smaller fundraisers, the kids are going to Disneyland!

Soboba Tribal Preschool Office Manager Amber Lopez said the plan for the year-end trip is to offer scheduled meet-up places and times during the day where the kids can gather with their classmates and teachers for group activities. It will be purely voluntary, but preschool staff believe the families will enjoy meeting up with familiar faces throughout the day. Students are also allowed to bring along siblings and others at their own cost, so it promises to be a fun-filled family excursion for all.

Noli Indian School Principal Donovan Post said, “This is the first trip that we have taken since the COVID outbreak in 2020.” He said the preschool staff came up with the idea for this fundraiser at one of their meetings. “Everyone thought it would go over well, but we had no idea how well it would do,” he said. “It really blows all expectations out of the water. The support from the Tribe was amazing; not only on the night by showing up, but also with the donations to make the night such a success.”

Lopez, who also served as Bingo caller, said they planned for about 300 guests but welcomed at least 30 more who purchased tickets at the door on the night of the event. Helping to organize and facilitate the fundraiser, in addition to Post and Lopez, were Sierra Vivanco, Lenora “Ponie” Mojado, Amanda Vallin, Julissa Garcia, Ana Garcia and Laura Aldrete. Post said Jacob Rivera and Arturo Horta, who cooked all the food, did an amazing job for the event.

“We also had the Family Services Department helping us out with Alicia Golchuk, Desiree Salazar and Jayson Latimer,” Lopez said. She added that the biggest challenge was strategizing on how to run the games efficiently and the best layout for all the raffle items. “Tara Placencia, grandmother of (preschool students) Liam and Lelani Grant, was a great help with giving us ideas on how they run their fundraiser events.”

Guests were able to purchase additional Bingo cards as well as colorful daubers to mark off the numbers. There were also more than 30 items available to win for the price of a $1 raffle ticket. Collection bags were put in front of items such as an air fryer and a vintage record player as well as book and game collections that were popular with parents of young children in attendance. A silent auction gave one lucky bidder a one-night stay at the Soboba Casino Resort Hotel that included a $100 voucher for slot play, a $200 dining credit and a free round of golf at the Soboba Springs Golf Course.

Students were encouraged to sell tickets to family and friends in the weeks leading up to the event and the top fundraisers were rewarded for their efforts with Disney character plush toys. Joseph Bentiste was tops with more than 44 tickets sold in advance and several at the door. His family also donated four raffle items. Right behind him was Lelani Grant, who sold more than 30 tickets and extra at the door. Her family donated 20 raffle items.

“The highlight of the night was to see the fun everyone was having,” Lopez said. “It was also nice to see the community come together to support our young people. We are all truly grateful.”

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Now that the theme parks are reopening, California residents can get a jump on celebrating thanks to a new ticket offer from Disneyland.

The limited-time offer allows state residents to purchase tickets for as low as $83 per person per day. The three-day, one-park per day tickets start at $249. A park hopper option is available for an additional $55. The ti

ckets are available for purchase starting Tuesday and are good through September 30th subject to park reservation availability.

The offer is valid only for California residents. Proof of eligible residency, including valid government-issued photo ID, is required for purchase and admission.

The tickets can be purchased at Disneyland.com, through a travel agent, or by calling call (866) 572-7321.

Anthony Wright | Contributed

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ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Disney will reopen its theme parks in California at the end of April after remaining closed for more than a year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Disneyland announced Wednesday that Disneyland and Disney California Adventure will reopen on April 30 with limited capacity. Under current state guidelines, only California residents can attend the parks.

“The day all of us have long been waiting for is almost here,” Ken Potrock, president of the Disneyland Resort, said in a statement. “We’re excited to have more than 10,000 cast members returning to work as we get ready to welcome our guests back to this happy place.”

All visitors ages 3 and up will require a reservation. Events that draw large group gatherings, such as parades, will not resume immediately.

The parks in Southern California closed on March 14, 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

As infections have fallen, California issued new rules for amusement parks to reopen in April in counties where virus transmission has dropped from widespread to substantial levels. This has already occurred in Orange County, where Disneyland is located.

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