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By Chris De
Benedetti, STAFF WRITER
Fremont Argus
September 9, 2006
FREMONT -
Crystal
Wittich and Gurbaksh Harika have never met,
and they come from very different
backgrounds. But the Fremont residents have
at least two things in common:
They
frequently hang out with friends at Central
Park. And they say they plan to enjoy
Celebrate Fremont @ the Park this weekend to
salute the city they have called home for
about a decade.
"I'm
looking forward to all the music," Wittich
said Friday while walking around Lake
Elizabeth. "I've got my map and my schedule
all ready."
About 50
yards away, the 71-year-old Harika performed
his daily ritual of playing cards in the
park with other retired seniors. Born in
India, Harika has lived in Fremont since
1995. He said he will play cards again with
his friends today, but addedthat they also
will be coming to celebrate the city.
They will
join as many as 100,000 people in the park
for Fremont's 50th anniversary party, an
event that's been in the works for nearly
two years.
Crews spent
much of Friday scurrying around the area,
setting up tents, booths, stages and artwork
that will comprise a list of activities
nearly as diverse as Fremont's population.
Celebrate
Fremont @ the Park is offering a wide range
of music, dance, sports, art, food and
drink. And many of the scheduled festivities
are being produced by Celebrate Fremont, the
all-volunteer community group that has
presented the city's year-round anniversary
celebrations.
The two-day
event will feature 162 activities in all,
organizers say.
Count Mayor
Bob Wasserman among the throngs of people
excited to attend Fremont's massive
anniversary party. He'll start his fun at 9
a.m. today by locking arms with a couple
thousand other people in "Hands Around the
Lake," the weekend's kickoff event at
Central Park.
"It's been
a marvel to see the level of volunteerism,"
Wasserman said. "I've worked in five cities,
but I've never seen a city even attempt
something like this with almost all
volunteers. It's been unbelievable."
The mayor
said he will have to take care of some
official business during the weekend, such
as delivering a handful of brief speeches.
But he also has plans to take time to enjoy
the celebration, the size and scope of which
are unprecedented for Fremont.
"It'll be a
great thing," Wasserman said. "I think it
will bring people together and make everyone
proud of the city." |
