2020 Canyon Lake Top 10 Stories

1. COVID-19

 

Of course, Canyon Lake’s number one story for this crazy and horrific year is going to be the pandemic. COVID-19 could be Numbers 1 through 10…but, although the virus impacted almost all aspects of life in Canyon Lake, the community showed its true colors and helped each other cope by doing its best to create a life above and beyond the pandemic. Those amazing efforts by so many, make up the rest of The Friday Flyer list of Top 10 stories this past year.

Nobody, though, will argue with COVID-19 taking the top spot.

It didn’t take long in March for COVID-19 awareness to go from a foreign affair to a very local one…and for the City of Canyon Lake to act quickly to protect its people.

The end of March, in an almost empty city council chambers, the city ratified and put into law a declaration of local emergency that had been urgently put into place by City Manager Chris Mann.

The declaration paved the way for the City of Canyon Lake to become eligible to request resources including financial support and reimbursement from the state office of emergency services and FEMA for costs incurred in responding to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Also, with the ratified declaration, among other benefits, the city had wider range and authority for enforcement under its police powers to issue orders intended to protect the health, safety and property of members of the community.

Mayor Ehrenkranz conducted the emergency meeting without his council members physically present. Instead, the four were connected remotely and voted unanimously to ratify the declaration.

During the meeting and via videos on the city website, members of the city council repeatedly urged city residents to adhere to the mandates California Governor Gavin Newsom instituted of all residents to stay home and when necessarily out in public to practice social distancing of at least six feet.

Only businesses engaged in essential services were to be open to the public, including markets, gas stations and to go restaurants. The city manager said city code enforcement officers would visit local businesses to educate and enforce this executive order.

Everything was so brand new with much more unknown than known. The city jumped on the situation and then, as it became more aware that the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, with which the city contracts for its police force, was not going to enforce the state’s various orders, the city let the Emergency Regulations Orders expire.

Last month, Chris, the city manager, said the city no longer has emergency regulations in place which would allow Code Enforcement to cite businesses or individuals for failing to comply with the state orders.

“The state or county could certainly enforce the orders, but we have not heard of any such enforcement efforts thus far,” Chris said. “The city encourages residents to use common sense and will continue to do whatever we can to support Canyon Lake businesses during these challenging times.”

As the pandemic wore on, classic annual Canyon Lake events began toppling one by one. The first major event to be canceled was the iconic Fiesta Days over the Memorial Day weekend.

With Fiesta Day canceled until next year, Canyon Lake’s beaches, parks and lake were used thoroughly by swimmers, skiers, boaters, kayakers and others. Although many stayed home to barbeque with their families, other Canyon Lakers frequented the community’s parks and beaches. Perfect weather cooperated and kept boaters out into the sunset hours.

Although Canyon Lake’s parks were busy, families and groups generally seemed to stay in small groups to themselves. Some parks, which during a typical Memorial Day weekend would be filled with groups shoulder-to-shoulder, were rather full, but not packed.

Indian Beach seemed to be the most popular of the community beaches. Families were out and about with kayaks and water toys. Sunset Beach was busy as well, but lacked its normal Fiesta Day excitement. The beaches during the holiday weekend had a calm family feel to them. They were full, well used and enjoyed, but lacked the big groups and crowds of years past.

The lake had its full complement of boats, though. Boats could be seen and heard throughout the weekend. With families and small groups out on their boats, they could easily keep a social distance.

Canyon Lake’s clubs were particularly hard hit. Most went almost entirely dark for the first several months of the pandemic. Others began to emerge as creativity set in and events were staged that could held safely. Others, that required gatherings, were called off.

Some of the events that survived or were created as a result of COVID-19 restrictions and impact, appear in elsewhere in this list of Canyon Lake’s Top 10 Stories of 2020.

Schools, board meetings, council meetings, restaurants, businesses, etc. were a shadow of themselves.

2. 9/11 Tribute

 

In this crazy COVID-19 year, what a perfect time it was for a couple of transplants from New York City to overwhelm Canyon Lake with a purpose. With New York City threatening to cancel its annual 9/11 tribute, Brian Bock and Ilyssa DeCasperis couldn’t sit silent.

The two formed a small group to consider how Canyon Lake could commemorate the 9/11 tragedy. The two were upset and determined to do something about it. Canyon Lake support erupted.

On Sept. 11, exactly timed at 9:11 p.m., twin blue beams of light sparkled into the sky above Canyon Lake to commemorate the solemn and tragic day of what had occurred 19 years ago.

“People took initiative, people donated, people asked how they could help,” Brian said. “It was truly a joint community effort that could not have occurred without all of us working together.”

The hard-to-not-notice twin beams of blue spotlights into the sky were not the only blue lights being illuminated Friday night. The spirit of the event caught on throughout the community. Houses turned blue. Landscapes and trees were lit up with blue lights. Signs popped up on hundreds of Canyon Lake front yards.

And, despite being discouraged from showing up because of COVID-19 health concerns, hundreds of Canyon Lakers spread out in front of the steps of the Canyon Lake Lodge to witness the small program the Canyon Lake 9/11 Tribute in Lights committee had organized just prior to lighting the sky.

The tribute ceremony at the lodge included keynote speakers who spoke about the tragedy, how it wounded the nation and that the world must never forget. Some speakers spoke live, while others participated by video.

“It was incredibly awesome,” Ilyssa said. “What stuck out the most for me, and what was just so memorable, was the support from our community, the city and the POA. Sheriff Bianco’s speech was just amazing. In a world so divided right now, this was a complete show of unity. We all came together as one for the memorial.’’

“The many posts on Facebook, the endless support and the hundreds of people who attended the ceremony proved how powerful our community can be when we are all united,” Brian said. “I never would’ve thought that our small idea of lighting up our hill on our street could turn into one big community effort to honor the lives lost on such a tragic day. The way our community pulled this off was almost magical.”

Many Canyon Lakers also documented their 9/11 thoughts and experiences through the use of social media with the hashtag “CL Will Never Forget.” The posts were of pictures of their lit-up houses, live streaming the event so it was accessible to all or commenting about the spectacular lights they had seen. Others posted about how they experienced and were impacted by the events of Sept. 11, 2001.

“We hope to continue this annually,” Ilyssa said. “The fact that this was completely resident driven was so powerful. The lights were magnificent. I was incredibly touched by the support of the community.”

3. POA Projects

 

With construction projects deemed “essential” by the state, there was no stopping the Canyon Lake POA from tackling its long list of improvement projects it had budgeted for 2020.

Projects that upgraded most every major park and amenity in Canyon Lake were impacted by the effort, including a $3.4 million pavement project that completely overhauled The Lodge’s huge parking lot as well as every other park’s parking lot and half of Canyon Lake Drive.

The swimming pool was overhauled, including it and its surrounding deck being resurfaced. An adjacent pool admin building was remodeled as well.

A major improvement to the Canyon Lake Golf Course’s iconic 13th Green, which sits The signature lake near the green at the Canyon Lake Golf Course that sits just behind the CANYON LAKE CC signage at its entrance finished its reconstruction.

The project included repairing, relining and renovating the badly-leaking lake. The Canyon Lake POA reconfigured the lake so its sides are naturally sloping, added a liner and relocated and replaced the bridge with an earthen bridge. The new lake will conserve water and save the POA more than $80,000 a year on its water bill.

After Happy Camp receiving a major upgrade recently, a new playground and remodeled restroom are being installed.

ADA ramps have been installed at The Lodge leading down to the rental docks and at Roadrunner Park.

A significant project is about to begin on the golf course. A $1.6 million irrigation project has been approved and will eventually pay for itself in water and electricity savings.

Moonstone Beach is now under renovation and will include upgrading the restrooms there and the dock, as well as pathways to new picnic tables.

4. Grad Parade

 

Canyon Lake graduates of the Class of 2020, high school and college students alike, were not able to participate in typical end-of-year celebrations this year because of COVID-19 restrictions. Canyon Lakers showed up in droves to ensure their accomplishments did not go uncelebrated.

Wanting to still celebrate all of their hard work and accomplishments, the Canyon Lake Family Matters Club organized a parade in their honor in May.

Many seniors participated in the parade, which simultaneously took place on four separate routes throughout Canyon Lake. They were carted around the parade routes in decorated golf carts or in classic cars driven by members of the Canyon Lake Cars Club.

“I’ve never been part of a parade, so it was a cool experience and I got to ride in a pretty sweet ride,” Marco Rodriguez, who graduated from Temescal Canyon High School and will be continuing his education at California Baptist University, said. “We have a great community in Canyon Lake to put this together. The Family Matters and Car Club helped honor our achievements. It’s nice to know that our community cares for us.”

Marco is one of many Canyon Lake seniors who expressed gratitude for the effort put in by the Family Matters Club to recognize the Class of 2020.

“Family Matters is pleased to have hosted something that brought just a little bit of joy and ‘grandness’ to an otherwise deflated graduation feeling,” Shawna Bowen, the founder of the Family Matters Club and organizer of the parade, said. “What is more special than having a parade in your hometown? Not a lot of places can do this.”

Shawna said that as a parent of a graduating college senior, she had been searching for a way to congratulate all of Canyon Lake’s seniors for all of their hard work.

“I thought what better way than a parade,” she said. “It was something we could do during the restrictions and it allowed people to participate either in the parade or by viewing the parade from safe distances.”

As Shawna and the Family Matters Club had intended, many seniors were able to create new memories during this community event.

“Thank you for the opportunity to have this awesome memory!” Cassidy Potter, a graduating senior from Vista Murrieta High School, said. “We had fun decorating the golf carts and being with our friends. The community really came out and supported us and we loved every minute of it. Thank you Ms. Bowen and Family Matters Club for dreaming this up for us!”

The parade would not have felt like such a celebration if not for the spectators, though, many of the participating grads said. Residents of Canyon Lake, even those who were not parents of seniors, came out on driveways and in golf carts to cheer and show their support.

“Families along the route had set up BBQs and fire pits,” Shawna said. “They were making an entire evening out of it. The parade participants were enjoying it so much that the route that ended at East Port then turned around and continued to Holiday Harbor.”

“I am so grateful to have a wonderful community to make up for our graduation,” Ariana Shah, from Temescal Canyon, said. “The parade was super fun and interactive. I’d love to thank Ms. Bowen and Family Matters for coordinating this!”

In addition to the parade, the Family Matters Club presented each participating senior with a congratulatory note and a voucher for a meal from Chick Fil A, which was donated by the restaurant.

“It was nice that Canyon Lake supported us for all our hard work we’ve done in these past years,” Tyler Van Meter, a TCHS graduate, said. “Due to COVID-19, the senior class of 2020 missed out on a few memories, but we were able to make our own because of the parade.”

5. 4th Fireworks

 

With the state and county all but shutting down fireworks shows on Independence Day amid COVID-19 concerns, the Canyon Lake Property Owners Association persevered and the show was a hit.

Canyon Lake has been putting on arguably the best 4th of July fireworks show in the county for decades and despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the community was wowed with huge explosions set off from Skipper’s Island again this year.

No doubt, as evidenced by large gatherings on some of the beaches, social distancing was not practiced by all during the holiday, but according to City Manager Chris Mann, overall numbers typical for July 4th were down.

“While there were certainly many who came out to enjoy the beaches, lake and fireworks, crowds seemed below average in size,” Chris said. “It would appear that many Canyon Lakers did a great job staying home, not calling-in as many guests and practicing social distancing.”

Several Independence Day activities took place in the community as residents celebrated the holiday. A bike ride in the morning had dozens of participants, including many children and families. A monstrous parade of boats that included over 120 boats and 600 participants drove in an orderly fashion around the lake. Additionally, the Canyon Lake POA pool was open all day and beaches and parks had a steady flow of swimmers, sunbathers and picnickers.

Perhaps there has never been more Canyon Lake backyard Independence Day barbecues in history as many families decided to stay home and enjoy the holiday.

Both for the boat parade and for viewing the fireworks show, boats were as popular as ever on the lake. Chris said boaters throughout the day seemed cooperative with city officials.

“As usual, City Code Enforcement provided support to the POA and the Fire Marshall to secure a safe fire fallout zone around Skippers Island,” he said. “Although many boaters were not aware of the buoy circle around the island, everyone was happy to comply once asked to leave the area. The addition of two Sheriff’s Deputies staffing a city enforcement boat provided added safety for residents.”

Chris said that other than one minor traffic collision in which the driver forgot to put the car in park, there were no major incidents reported to police.

6. Veteran’s Day

 

In a year of the continued disappointment of postponing and canceling major traditional Canyon Lake events, the community rose up in a big way to honor its veterans Nov. 11. In a celebration that brought hundreds to the streets in golf carts and as spectators, the annual city Veteran’s Day Celebration has never been bigger.

The typical ceremony at the Canyon Lake Town Center’s Veterans Memorial Park couldn’t happen because of COVID-19 restrictions, so the City of Canyon Lake decided instead to organize the socially-distant golf cart parade and a flyover that took place over the entire length of the community. Although the memorial park ceremony was missed, the change meant more Canyon Lakers participated.

Lines of veterans in their decorated golf carts with loved ones paraded along the main streets of Canyon Lake to cheers of those who lined the streets in their driveways and balconies. There were even those who watched from their boats as they floated in the adjoining lake. Many people were waving flags and cheering as the carts passed by.

Canyon Lake Mayor Jordan Erenkranz led the parade in his golf cart. The others followed in their golf carts that were decorated patriotically with flags, some blowing bubbles and others blasting music.

The cart parade was organized into military eras and the wars in which the veterans participated. Veterans and their carts lined up in their designated areas. The World War II veterans took the lead, followed by those in the Korean War, Vietnam, Iraq and to the present.

“I’m excited that we’re doing this,” Joe Pizzo, who served in the Navy from 1953 to 1957, said while in his golf cart looking at the mass of other veterans lining up. “I didn’t realize that there were this many vets in Canyon Lake.”

Many of those participating were grateful for the opportunity to join their fellow veterans on such a gorgeous day.

“I’m a committee member and I helped set this event up,” Harry Larson, who served for 11 years starting in 1945, said. “It’s a great sunny day in Canyon Lake and we’re going to enjoy the day and enjoy the turnout. I’m really excited to see how everything goes.”

Golf carts in the parade drove in single file from East Port Park to Gault Field, where they made a U-Turn and headed back to Canyon Lake Drive and ended at the Canyon Lake Town Center.

The crowd then dispersed back to their homes to view the 15-minute flyover show which started at 3:00 p.m. Canyon Lakers watched the Warbirds flyover from either parks or from their homes.

“It’s nice to continue this recognition,” Jack Wamsley, who served from 1950 to 1954 and the Korean War, said. “Veterans gave a lot to make sure we can do this.”

The city, led by Mayor Pro Tem Kasey Castillo, will continue the celebration in future years and it will be interesting to see if a COVID-19-less celebration will include aspects of this year’s highly successful version.

“It’s very important that we celebrate this day every year,” Rocco Lanzisera, who served 1974-76 and the Vietnam War.

7. City Fire Dept.

 

The City of Canyon Lake decided in a November City Council Meeting that it could no longer sustain the substantial increases in the costs of its contract with Riverside County for its fire and emergency services. The city council members unanimously authorized the formation of a brand new City of Canyon Lake Fire Department effective January 2022.

With each new contract for fire and emergency services with Riverside County, the City of Canyon Lake has experienced skyrocketing increases in fees. Contracts have increased about $1 million over the past five years with future increases expected. The city’s only real alternative to accepting the increases was to establish its own municipal fire department. The new fire department will be owned and operated by the city.

Throughout the history of the city, fire and emergency services were provided by county-run Station 60 in Canyon Lake through contracts the city and county signed.

At the meeting, the city council heard from City Manager Chris Mann about the feasibility of creating its fire department. Chris presented an historical presentation as to the costs, services and issues with fire and emergency services. He also spoke of potential solutions, including the creation of the fire department. The council had been given a thorough study conducted by Emergency Services Consulting International, a 176-page study that outlined the risks and costs associated with dropping the county contract for establishing a stand-alone fire department.

Renewing a contract with the county would have continued to stretch the city’s budget. The current fee is about $2.2 million a year for fire services out of a total $6.6 million city budget.

The new city fire department is expected to save the city between $300,00 and $600,000 a year, once start-up costs, which include leasing fire engines and hiring an interim fire chief, were concluded.

Chris made it clear at the meeting that the move to not renewing the county contract was strictly financial and not based on county services.

“We are very happy with the level of service from Cal Fire,” he said. “But, we have to look at the sustainability of the city’s ability to pay for it.”

The council vote came after years of studying the possibility of establishing its own fire department.

“We wouldn’t propose this change if we couldn’t provide the same level of service or better service,” Chris said. “The public’s safety is our highest priority.”

With the approval of the new fire department, the next steps for the city’s staff was to recruit and contract with a consultant/interim fire chief, create contracts and budget adjustments to bring to future meetings for the council’s approval and ratification and create an ordinance to bring to a future council meeting to officially establish the City of Canyon Lake Fire Department.

The Interim Fire Chief position was advertised and 38 employment applications were received by the deadline last month. Canyon Lake City Manager Chris Mann said that many of the candidates are incredibly strong.

The 38 applications will be whittled down to the top six candidates and those six will be interviewed. The interviews are tentatively scheduled for this week.

“The plan is to invite the six most-qualified applicants to interview with a panel comprised of city managers and fire/EMS personnel from the region,” Chris said. “We hope to have the Interim Fire Chief on board in early February.”

With the Interim Fire Chief in place in February, he or she will have approximately 11 months to establish the new fire department. The new hire will work under the administrative direction of the city manager and will develop and oversee the startup and operations of the new single-station fire department.

Tasks of the Interim Fire Chief will include establishing fire department policies and procedures, training, EMS implementation and purchasing or leasing of vehicles and equipment among other tasks.

Until the City of Canyon Lake Fire Department is officially on its own, the fire and emergency services will continue to be provided by the Riverside County Fire and Cal Fire, with which the city has a contract.

8. Christmas

 

It seemed Christmas in Canyon Lake, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, would be a shell of its normal self. Club and staff Christmas parties were canceled and events such the annual Christmas Tree Lighting and Breakfast with Santa were canceled.

But, creativity once again prevailed and two of Canyon Lake’s created safe-distanced holiday events.

First, the Street Carts of Canyon Lake held a record-breaking holiday golf cart parade. The following week, the 38th consecutive running of the Canyon Lake Parade of Lights lit up the lake.

Over 150 golf carts, all decked out in their holiday best, paraded down Canyon Lake Drive the evening of Dec. 6 to excited Canyon Lakers who lined the route of The 10th Annual Canyon Lake Toy Drive and Christmas Cart Parade.

The parade and toy drive are a holiday tradition in Canyon Lake put on by The Street Carts of Canyon Lake Club.

The elaborately-decorated golf carts started on Bluebird and traversed the entire length of Canyon Lake, ending at Eastport Park.

“It was a great turn out, both by participants and spectators,” Mike Shroyer, the president and founder of Street Carts of Canyon Lake, said. “This was the best parade we’ve had yet! I was hoping for 150 golf carts and we had 158.”

With COVID-19 restrictions being enforced, the typical gathering at the end of the parade where more festivities would have taken place, including the awarding of winners for best carts, was canceled. Instead, the crowd dispersed and found out via the club’s website who had won the various awards.

In addition to the fun event and community Christmas spirit the parade provided, the purpose of the annual parade is to collect toys for the underprivileged children in the area.

“It was such a blessing to receive all the donated toys,” Mike said. “We have received around 250 toys so far. I want to thank the POA, fire department, security, police department, the club members and the amazing people of Canyon Lake for making this such a successful event!”

Then, the following weekend, the Canyon Lake Parade of Lights was held.

Canyon Lake residents and friends, eager for a traditional Christmas festivity, flocked to waterfront houses and parks to view the colorful parade put on by the Canyon Lake Yacht Club Dec. 12.

About 30 boats slowly joined the parade behind the Canyon Lake Yacht Club’s Fire-Breathing Green Dragon, which led the route around the lake.

Following the parade, winners were announced by the Yacht Club via social media.

In addition to those who viewed the Parade of Lights in person, others took advantage of the Yacht Club’s live-streaming of the event on Facebook Live. With COVID-19 concerns, the Facebook Live event provided a safe viewing experience for those wishing to remain inside.

9. Canyon Lake Zoo

 

One of the first groups to face the pandemic head on and get creative in organizing a safe community event was a group of parents who encouraged others to put zoo animal posters, displays and creatures on their front yards. It was a resounding hit and set the tone for future equally-creative COVID-19 safe events.

For a few days in May, front yards throughout the community were converted into exhibits for Canyon Lake’s children to visit.

The “Canyon Lake Zoo” opened the last day of April, with children and families walking, riding and scooting around the lake searching for different animals. Adhering to the social distancing requirements the city had put into place, participants wore masks and didn’t gather, except as families living in the same household.

Over 100 households throughout Canyon Lake signed up and each location used great creativity to transform their front yards into zoo exhibits. There were blow-up animals, stuffed animals, massive photos of animals and even a few live animal displays. The type of animal varied widely, as most were not duplicated, but they ranged from ferocious to sweet and very real to mythical.

The Canyon Lake Zoo ran until May 2, according to Kenni-Marie Potter, who came up with the idea that had just exploded. She was inspired by her cousin’s neighborhood in Bonsall that put on a “zoo” activity for their town.

“I thought to myself, ‘if her community could put something like that on, Canyon Lake would love to do it’,” Kenni-Marie said. “We are so tight knit and really do live in a little bit of paradise.”

Kenni-Marie started by spreading the word to select friends about the event on Facebook. Those friends selected animals and signed up to participate. At that point over 60 people had signed up. Over the weekend she posted about the event on Canyon Lake Community’s Facebook page. By Monday, there were over 100 households signed up.

Those who signed up started transforming their yards into a “zoo” for kids of all ages to peruse and enjoy.

10. Rock the Boat

 

Concerts are a regular social event in Canyon Lake, as both the Canyon Lake Fine Arts Guild and the Canyon Lake POA put on sold-out musical concerts throughout the year. COVID-19 canceled them all. Until those at the Canyon Lake POA got creative.

The Holiday Harbor Amphitheater sits on the edge of the lake, with its seating installed permanently on a hill overlooking the stage and the lake. Holding a concert with the audience in those seats would be obviously prohibited with social distancing being impossible. But, thought the POA, why not turn the performers around and sing to boats sitting out in the lake?

Rock the Boat concerts were born.

Canyon Lakers were invited to enjoy the free concert by boat, paddle board or kayak. The inaugural Rock the Boat Concert on Sept. 6 featured two well-known stars.

Makayla Phillips, 18, was a Golden Buzzer recipient on America’s Got Talent, Season 13 and made it to the Top 11 on 2020’s American Idol.

Kenny Marquez is the former lead guitarist for the 1980s/90s multi-million dollar selling American rock band Renegade.

The second Rock the Boat Concert was held on Oct. 17 and had a country music theme.

The concert featured well-traveled local country artists The Kanan Road Band and keyboardist Harlan Spector.

The Kanan Road Band, a band with its own twist on country music, took the stage for the free concert.

Harlan Spector, a SoCal keyboard player best known as a Hammond organist with extraordinary ability on the organ bass pedals, opened the concert.