In many households with children, I suspect, the morning after Christmas played out in a similar way.
As parents sleep in, exhausted from the festivities the day before, children awake and venture out of their rooms to begin playing with the toys they so hastily opened the day before. As the morning unfolds and the parents stumble out of bed, some form of nourishment ensues, often in the form of leftovers. The presents that are at the top of children’s lists quickly becomes apparent.
One of the most stereotypical of Christmas presents is some form of bicycle. Whether it is a toddler’s first tricycle or simply a replacement for one that has become too small, undoubtedly many children got bikes under the Christmas tree this year. Bicycles are a great way to get kids unplugged from the television or video games and into the sunshine.
Last March for my oldest son Nikkolas' senior year community service project, a requirement for graduation from Santa Rosa Academy, he put together Menifee’s First Annual bicycle rodeo. All on his own, he went out to local businesses, solicited support in the form of monetary donations and product donations for a raffle. He reached out to adults in the community for support with staffing and finding a location.
In short, he did a lot of work for an 18-year-old. One of the comments he made when it was all don, was that he wanted to make it a yearly tradition. We always went to the local bike rodeo every year when he was a kid in Ramona, a small town in Northeast San Diego County, and he wanted to bring this to his younger siblings and the kids of Menifee.
The rodeo consisted of an obstacle course led by an officer from the Menifee Police Departmen; a traffic safety themed magic show performed by Mr. Porkpie, a local children’s performer; and several booths, including a concession stand, and a bike check station by Menifee Bicycles.
Toward the end of the rodeo, there was a raffle drawing for prizes ranging from a $5 value to a $50 value, and everybody got a prize. All the proceeds were donated to the Menifee Youth Foundation.
I wasn’t allowed to help last time because it was a school project, but this year we all can. Nikk wants to make the event bigger and better this year and he is looking for the best place to hold it, as well as a new list of volunteers and activities.
If you are interested in participating as an attendee or a volunteer, please reach out to Nikk or me at www.facebook.com/MenifeeBikeRodeo or of course you can email me at ManAboutMenifee@gmail.com.
Further dates and information will be provided based on participation and location availabilities. Thank you in advance for your support.
David Baker, our Man About Menifee, writes about his adventures in and around town every Friday in this space. You may leave comments for him here or email him at manaboutmenifee@gmail.com.
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