"It was earmarked for condos, both sides," Christine Hernandez Aleman said of La Colonia Park in 2021. She was standing in the park the community had fought to keep. "We took many, many, many hours fighting for this with the supervisors in San Diego."
Five years later, the park is hosting most of the remaining events in Solana Beach's 40th-anniversary year. The city incorporated on July 1, 1986. The summer events were held on the sand at Fletcher Cove. From October onward, the anniversary moves inland to 715 Valley Avenue, where the neighborhood, its restaurant and its museum building all predate the city.
A Birthday Built From the Regular Calendar
The city didn't create a separate anniversary festival. At a March 11 council meeting, City Manager Alyssa Muto described a plan to mark the milestone "during the city's usual lineup of community events." She credited the city's "solid partnerships with many of these community groups."
In practice, the anniversary was added to events people already go to. Fiesta del Sol opened the year on May 30 and 31 at Fletcher Cove Park. On July 1, the City Council issued a proclamation honoring the city's history and its former council members, and current and former city leaders gathered for the occasion. The official birthday party was the next evening's Concert on the Beach at Fletcher Cove. It had an '80s theme, with Betamaxx and Atomic Groove, free hot dogs and cupcakes, and a raffle. The Coast News reported that hundreds attended.
On Aug. 8, the 21st annual Beach Blanket Movie Night moved the screen onto the sand for the anniversary and showed North Shore after live music. The city sold $25 commemorative T-shirts at its booth.
Every one of those events was held at the cove. Developer Ed Fletcher shaped Fletcher Cove and much of the city's early real estate. The next major event on the calendar is held at the other historic center of town.
October 18 Turns Día de los Muertos Into a Birthday
This year's Día de los Muertos takes the 40th anniversary as its theme. The City and the La Colonia Community Foundation are co-hosting it on Sunday, Oct. 18, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at La Colonia Park. The program honors "the ancestral legacy of La Colonia de Eden Gardens" and adds three anniversary features: a display of photos from throughout the city's history, a cake cutting and a limited-edition mug giveaway.
The rest of the day is the full program the event is known for:
- More than 40 altars honoring family and friends who have passed away, blessed by Danza Azteca San Luis Rey starting at 10 a.m.
- The MiraCosta Ballet Folklórico Club and a classic car show by the Viejitos Car Club
- Music from Los Gringos Muertos Band, Smooth Groove Band, Ilusión Norteña, JoJo Productions and Mariachi Del Mar
- Free kids' activities, including a piñata, a scavenger hunt and crafts
- A Catrin/Catrina costume contest, a dog costume contest and a face mask contest
- Food, drinks and handmade goods for sale from vendors
Parking will be limited. The city asks people to carpool, bike, walk or take transit, and to bring their own picnic chairs and blankets.
Holding the city-history photos at this event makes sense given the dates. The event itself is fairly new to the calendar. In 2015, the Union-Tribune described that year's Nov. 1 event as the city's inaugural Día de los Muertos, co-sponsored by what was then called the La Colonia de Eden Gardens Foundation. The neighborhood it celebrates is far older than either the event or the city.
The Ages on Valley Avenue
The places near the park line up like this against the city's 40 years:
| Place | Started | Age in 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Stevens House, now the Solana Beach Heritage Museum | Built 1887 | 139 years |
| La Colonia de Eden Gardens | Early 1920s | Over 100 years |
| Tony's Jacal, 621 Valley Avenue | 1946 | 80 years |
| City of Solana Beach | July 1, 1986 | 40 years |
| Día de los Muertos at La Colonia Park | First held 2015 | 11 years |
La Colonia formed in the early 1920s as families settled near farm work. The La Colonia Community Foundation's history says they lived in tents at first and then worked together to build homes, places of worship and businesses. The Civic & Historical Society calls it Solana Beach's first neighborhood, founded in 1920. Its centennial fiesta was pushed back a year by the pandemic and held in September 2021. Among the 160 guests was Marion Dodson, who served on the first City Council after incorporation in 1986.
Tony's Jacal catered that centennial dinner with turkey tacos and enchiladas. The restaurant began in 1946, when Tony came home from military service and he and Catalina opened a 26-seat dining room in their family home. Grandson Raymond "Ray" Rincon Jr. manages it today, and the family celebrated its 80th anniversary over the weekend of April 18. Tony's has now been open twice as long as the city has existed. Its posted hours are noon to 8:30 p.m. on Sunday, and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. plus 4:30 to 9 p.m. on Monday and Wednesday through Saturday. It is generally closed on Tuesdays, though The Coast News reports it opens seven days a week during racing season.
The oldest building on the list wasn't built in La Colonia. The Stevens House was built in 1887 and later moved to the park. The City owns it, and the Civic & Historical Society runs it as the Heritage Museum. This year the city gave it a new tile roof, repaired the fascia and deck cover, repainted it and refurbished the matching shed. The museum is open the first and third Saturdays of each month from 1 to 4 p.m., during major park events and by appointment. Its exhibits include period rooms with 1900s and 1930s kitchens and parlors, plus a photo timeline of local history.
Why the Park Can Host All of This
The park is a center of town because people fought to keep it one. At the 2021 centennial, descendants of La Colonia's first families described growing up playing along Stevens Creek, which ran through what is now La Colonia Park. Hernandez Aleman remembered the baseball and football games and called it "a sacred place for me." At the same event, attorney Joe Villasenor said his great-grandfather helped build many of the buildings still standing in the neighborhood and helped bring water to the community.
Today the park holds the Heritage Museum, the La Colonia Community Center and the Veterans Honor Courtyard with its Veterans Memorial Wall. The city opened the wall for viewing during this year's Memorial Day ceremony. Robert "Chuckles" Hernandez, a first-generation resident, was instrumental in developing the wall and courtyard.
More changes are planned. In July 2025, the City approved interim improvements for the vacant three-quarter-acre lot north of the skate park and basketball courts. The plan calls for a winding trail to the museum, shaded seating and picnic tables, drought-tolerant landscaping and an event lawn. The city's notice said work was expected to begin in 2026. The notice gave a forecast start rather than a construction date, so the lot may look different by Oct. 18.
The Rest of the Anniversary Calendar
From here through mid-December, most of the city's events are on Valley Avenue:
- Tuesday, Oct. 13, 6 p.m., La Colonia Community Center. The League of Women Voters North County San Diego presents its nonpartisan "Pros and Cons" overview of the 14 state propositions on the November ballot. The presenters are Mandy Butler and Rosette Garcia, and it's free.
- Sunday, Oct. 18, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., La Colonia Park. Día de los Muertos with the 40th-anniversary theme.
- Wednesday, Nov. 11, 11 a.m. to noon, La Colonia Park. The annual Veterans Day ceremony, with the Camp Pendleton Young Marines, the Santa Fe Christian School Band, a dove release and a guest speaker.
- Saturday, Nov. 14, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Fletcher Cove Community Center. World Kindness Day, with a clothing swap and a San Diego Fixit Clinic for mending clothes and repairing bikes, gadgets and small appliances. That afternoon, the City Hall Gallery holds an opening reception for Stephanie Missan's exhibition "Beneath the Palms" from 4 to 6 p.m.
- Sunday, Dec. 6, from 4:30 p.m., Fletcher Cove. The Holiday Tree Lighting.
- Sunday, Dec. 13, 5 to 7 p.m., La Colonia Park. A second Holiday Tree Lighting, co-hosted by the City and the La Colonia Community Foundation.
The March anniversary schedule listed World Kindness Day for Nov. 13 and the second tree lighting for Dec. 12. The city's newer event pages give Nov. 14 and Dec. 13. The anniversary also runs into 2027, ending with the spring egg hunt on March 27 and Fiesta del Sol on May 29 and 30.
For the longer history, local author Peter House updated his book for the anniversary as Making Great Better: 100 Years of Creating a California Coastal City. The Civic & Historical Society says a free digital edition is available and print copies can be ordered.
Houses near La Colonia Park and Valley Avenue carry history that predates the city by decades, and the right buyers will value it. If you're considering a move after this anniversary year, The Lotzof Group can show you what your Solana Beach home is worth. Request a confidential home valuation.
