Carlsbad State Beach Staircase Improved Thanks to Donations

Friends of Cardiff & Carlsbad State Beaches (FCCSB) is giving the staircase at Carlsbad State Beach off Poinsettia Ave. a $20,000 upgrade. The work is expected to be completed after Labor Day. The money was raised through donations and a large memorial donation.

On Saturday, FCCSB opened it's Christmas in July event at the campgrounds with an announcement that Cardiff Seaside Market made the largest donation ever to the Friends of Cardiff & Carlsbad State Beaches (FCCSB) by giving them $20,000 for the Adopt-a-Stairway program. Cardiff Seaside Market's donation will allow FCCSB to fully renovate the main entrance beach stairway at San Elijo State Beach in Cardiff. 

"The members of the community present at Christmas in July really applauded Cardiff Seaside Market for stepping up and showing their tremendous support for their local state beach and our Adopt-a-Stairway program," said Bill Mahoney, VP/Founder of the Friends of Cardiff & Carlsbad State Beaches (FCCSB) non-profit group. "Seaside Market's contribution is a major step forward for this ambitious community program to rebuild 9 key beach-access stairways in Cardiff and Carlsbad. This donation doubles our contributions received so far, taking the total to $40,000 raised in just a few months."

Other highlights from Saturday's Christmas in July include:

- 2,200 people attended the free family community event and were entertained all day along by magic shows, facepainting, live tiki carving, storytelling, games, DJ Dave's music and other family activities (pic attached)

- FCCSB gave out a gift to every child present once Santa arrived and then 120 free prizes were handed out in a free prize drawing at the end of the day.

- California State Parks rangers and lifeguards did law enforcement and lifesaving skills and equipment demonstrations for the families and children present, as did Carlsbad Fire Department.

- More than $7,000 was raised at Christmas in July to benefit the FCCSB's beach preservation activities, mostly from the proceeds of a Silent Auction.

- Key donors who made the event possible included La Costa Resort & Spa, Callaway Golf, Magdalena Ecke Family YMCA in Encinitas, Luv2Camp Trailer Rental, Hilton Oceanfront in Carlsbad, Hilton Garden Inn in Carlsbad, Paddle Planet in Leucadia, Little Guy Trailers, Gravity Skateboards, Oakley, Spy Optics and California State Parks. Other sponsors included Holiday Inn Cardiff, Fish 101 Restaurant, Pizza Port, Islands Restaurants, Cinepolis Cinema, Surf Ride and Osiris Skate Shoes.

–FCCSB press release contributed to this report