It started in 2005 with a few friends racing down a steep San Clemente street in office chairs; a wacky, grassroots event that kicked off the Fourth of July holiday.
But now, the unsanctioned gathering draws crowds in the thousands that line the street firing water balloons at people flying down the road in office chairs – and anything else that can be attached to wheels and ridden down the hill – so city officials say they are hoping a new, family friendly event will be embraced instead.
“Over the years, we’ve seen the event grow in size – up to 7,000 people have attended the event, and in turn, the event has at times become unsafe,” Samantha Wylie, director of the city’s Beaches, Parks & Recreation department, said at a recent meeting discussing the new event. “We’ve identified some pretty serious conditions that have occurred … and in light of that, we’ve heard kind of an outcry from the neighbors and the residents that live in that area that they want their street back.”
Last year, there were injuries reported from frozen water balloons being chucked at people, and first responders trying to give medical aid were met with water balloons and water guns, she said.
Residents who live on the street are left with the mess of countless broken balloons littering the street, along with urine and feces in their yards, and some of the crowd already inebriated during the morning event, city staff said.
“We have pictures of people that had been hit in the face, been bruised up in the face, some stitches and things like that,” City Manager Andy Hall said. “So it just became an event that was a little larger than could be handled, organically. It needs to be something that has a little bit more structure to it so that it can be safe.”
A sanctioned office chair race could happen, Wylie said, but it needs to go through proper city channels and get a special event permit.
“We want to make sure that every resident feels safe enough to go out in front of their house on any day, particularly the Fourth of July, so they asked the city to step in and help support some kind of change in the activity or shut it down,” she said.
When homeowners asked the city to step in, the idea for a city-sanctioned event for this holiday, Stars, Stripes, & Slip ‘N Slides, was born.
The new event will be held on Avenida Victoria and Avenida Rosa, the same area the chair races are traditionally run, starting at 10 a.m. on July 4 with entertainment, activities and food and drinks available.
While the event is free to attend, the city will charge for an activity wristband to go on a slip n’ slide, a 17-foot water slide, a 75-foot obstacle course and other features.
There will also be everything from a basketball contest to a community sidewalk chalk art mural, as well as a water-balloon toss, hula hoop and pie-eating competitions and a lasertag arena.
There will be bands playing, with Hillbilly Crutch at 10:30 a.m., followed by Doors tribute band Soul Kitchen. Military vehicles from Camp Pendleton will be on display.
A beer garden will be hosted by Los Molinos Brewery, with proceeds benefiting the Friends of San Clemente Beaches, Parks & Recreation Foundation, and there will be food trucks on site.
The hope is for a fun event that will have some of the same elements – water and competition – as the office chair races, but in a more safe and controlled environment, Wylie said.
Lifeguards will be on hand monitoring the water areas and security has been hired to make sure all goes smooth, including bag checks to make sure no booze is brought in, she said.
As word of the city’s plan spread on social media, some agreed the event had become too dangerous in recent years, while others called it an overreach for the city to nix such an iconic event.
Longtime San Clemente resident Noa Serpa said he has been going to the races since the early years, first as a spectator and then in recent years as a participant. For Serpa, it’s the highlight of summer, he said.
Last year, he and a few friends found a crib and decked it out with wheels, winning one of the unofficial awards for what they dubbed the “Freedom Crib.”
The crew was ready to start building this year’s design – a sandbox on wheels – when they heard the event had been canceled. Serpa said he will miss the adrenaline of racing down the hill, the crowds cheering and the creative items such as surfboards or couches contestants would use.
“To me, it seemed like they wanted to make money off of everyone coming,” he said. “I was kind of upset about that.”
