Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians
Special to Valley News
Although school was not in session, young ones had plenty to do this summer, thanks in part to the annual Soboba Parks & Recreation Summer Program, which was open to children aged 6-11. From June 17 through July 22, fifty-four participants enjoyed pool days, on-site activities at the Soboba Sports Complex, and field trips.
The month-long program opened with a day of icebreakers, rock painting, and creating “All About Me” posters to help the children learn more about each other. Several pool days were interspersed with learning about various departments that serve the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians.
On June 24, the children spent the morning with the Soboba Fire Department, and on July 8, they spent a day with the Department of Public Safety, after which the kids wrote thank you letters to the staff for educating them about what the department does for reservation residents.
They also spent a day with the staff from the Cultural Resource Department on July 10 and with Christian Aceves and his team at the Soboba Tribal Environmental Department on July 15.
An active day of physical fun took the group to Bowlero Hemet on June 26, and they visited Knott’s Berry Farm on the final day of the program, July 22.
“Something new we did this year was a cooking competition with the Tribal Community Kitchen Chef Anita Morillo and her sous chef, Jeramiah,” Parks & Rec Activities Director Jen Garcia said. “The youth formed their own groups with a staff member as their leader. They all competed to make handmade pizzas. There were eight teams, and each team had to make a savory and sweet pizza. Kut Vega donated his firewood pizza oven for the youth to cook their pizzas in.”
The final creations were judged on taste by Administrative Assistant Vanessa San Vicente, Parks & Rec Director Andy Silvas, and Assistant Director of the Sports Complex Steve Lopez. The winning team members received trophies for being the “Summer Program Cooking Champs” on July 17.
Jen said, “The highlight of this year’s summer program was all the departments that came out and planned activities for us. I want to give special thanks to Soboba Fire, Soboba Cultural Resource, STED, Soboba Tribal Kitchen, and Soboba DPS.”
Children began arriving at 9:45 a.m. each day, with the official start time at 10:15 a.m. on Monday through Thursday. Sessions ended at approximately 1 p.m. each day.
“I just want to thank my team for being so supportive,” Jen said. Parks & Rec team members included Micheal Durrett, Evelyn Duran, Isabelle Macatubal, and Jazmine Lopez. They were joined by Soboba Tribal TANF WE LEAD youth interns Shawna Rivera, Te’met Guacheno, Amielynn Womack, Lavina Lopez, and Andrew Velazquez. She also appreciated Alex Alvarado, Fabian Correa, and Carlos Correa for picking up and serving lunch to the youth each day.
With food favorites such as hamburgers, chicken strips, spaghetti, enchiladas, and BBQ chicken, the kids enjoyed a wholesome and delicious daily meal as part of the program.
Carrie Garcia’s two daughters, Clementine Swan, 8, and Clover Swan, 6, attended for the first time. According to Clementine, they enjoyed Pool Party Day, Knott’s, Cultural Day, making their own pizzas, Fire Department Day, Public Safety Day, and the first day, in that order.
“I liked to ask them how the day went on the ride home from the Sports Complex,” Carrie said. “Usually, one of the girls would fill me in on daily details while they were getting their things ready for the next day’s activities.”
And the things they learned about extended beyond the day. “Clementine had me text Jessica Valdez at the Cultural Department to get the recipe for the Strawberry Chia Jam that they had made. She wanted to make some for the Pool Party Potluck,” Carrie said.
She encourages other parents to take advantage of the Soboba Summer Program. “It’s good for the kids to mingle and get to know everyone over the summer. It’s also a good way for them to learn what different departments do for the reservation,” Carrie said. “It’s also a bit nostalgic for me. I love watching my children attend and experience the things that I did when I was young. Soboba’s Summer Program has been taking its kids to Knott’s Berry Farm since the ’80s or ’90s. That’s 40-plus years. It’s kinda cool.”
On July 20, most of the same Summer Program children attended Soboba Parks & Recreation’s Summer Bash with their entire family at the Sports Complex. The annual Soboba Tribal and Community event offered a cornhole tournament, inflatable jumpers with water slides, food, yard games such as a water balloon toss, MMA training inside the gym, and a foam party provided by Epic Fun on one of the baseball fields. The pool was open for those looking to cool off on the hot afternoon. It was a great way to close out the summer.
“We raffled over 50 school items for the youth to jump-start their back-to-school shopping,” Jen Garcia said. DJ Mike Nevarez kept the upbeat tempo for all the outdoor activities while announcing the different events taking place throughout the grounds.
Carrie Garcia and her family, including her four-year-old son, attended the Summer Bash. “For me, the highlight was the scavenger hunt. That was fun,” she said. “My daughter and I participated; we didn’t win, but we had a heck of a good time. My son loved the foam party; he kept sneaking away to it before finally settling in at the pool with grandma and dad while the girls took off with their cousins to the water slide jumpers.”
