TOMMY LASORDA TO SPEAK AT THE SENIOR LITTLE LEAGUE WESTERN REGIONAL TOURNAMENT

The following article is from guest contributor Sid Robinson from the blog Sid's Side.

UPLAND, Calif. – Eleven champion teams will converge in Ontario and Upland from Aug. 4-11 to determine the best team in the West at the Senior Little League Western Regional Tournament.

The tournament, which will be held at Jay Littleton Field in Ontario and Memorial Park in Upland, is the final event before the Senior Little League World Series in Bangor, Maine, featuring teams with players ages 14-16.

State champion teams from Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Northern California, Oregon, Southern California and Washington, along with the host team from California District 23, will compete in this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to earn a trip to the Senior Little League World Series.

Opening Day activities will begin at Memorial Park with the kick off on Tuesday, Aug. 4, with a pancake breakfast for $3 hosted by the Upland Fire Department from 7-10 a.m. Outback Steakhouse will serve lunch for $5 from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Former Los Angeles Dodgers Hall of Fame Manager Tommy Lasorda will speak at 10 a.m., along with Upland Mayor John “J.P” Pomierski.

A home run derby featuring two players from each participating team will follow the ceremonies.

Four games are scheduled for every day from Aug. 4-8, with games at each field at 4 and 7 p.m. Two games will be played on Aug. 9, leading up to the tournament semi-finals on Aug. 10 at Jay Littleton Field. The championship game will be played at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 11.

The 4 p.m. Opening Day contests feature Montana against Northern California at Jay Littleton Field and Arizona vs. Southern California at Memorial Park. At 7 p.m., Hawaii will play Oregon at Jay Littleton and Nevada will play the District 23 team at Memorial Park.

Many local organizations have contributed either with financial, service and other non-monitory support. The most notable supporters include Doubletree Hotel, Mark Christopher Chevrolet, Aires Hotel, Pro Nine, Colonies Partners, and the City of Upland.

A complete schedule and more tournament information can be found here.

For more information, contact Ralph Cavallo at (951) 990-4595.



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Wednesday Concert in the park: The Answer

Upland's favorite classic playin', shirt shootin', flag wearin' band will be playing tonight at Magnolia Park in Upland. Of all the bands that play these type of events, they seem to have the biggest following.

Music starts at 7:00PM and the movie, "Madagascar, Escape to Africa", starts at about 8:45. There is also a kids activity called "Fun with water". I'll be there and will post a trip report this weekend.

For more info on The Answer, visit their site here.


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Concert in the Park tonight at Magnolia Park

Night two of the series is tonight. The band is the Ravelers and the movie is IGOR. I haven't heard of either but it all starts at 7:00 (Movie after the band at about 8:45). It should be a good time.

For a complete list of events and times over the following weeks see the complete schedule here.

See you there.

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World Vision Experience: HIV/Aids: Step Into Africa exhibit coming to Alta Loma

OK, this isn't for Upland but it's still local. The following was sent to me by the good people over at World Vision and Hillside Community Church in Alta Loma.

Hillside Community Church, in Alta Loma, is hosting the World Vision Experience: AIDS exhibit, beginning May 15th. Visitors walk through a replica of an African village and experience the effects of the AIDS pandemic in a real way as they listen to a personal audio track relating the story of one of four children – Kombo, Babirye, Emmanuel, and Mathabo.



The event will take place at:

Hillside Community Church

5354 Haven Ave., Alta Loma, CA 91737

Exhibit information can be found at www.worldvisionexperience.org/hillsidechurch



The free exhibit will be open to the public from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. every day starting Friday, May 15, 2009, through Friday, May 22, 2009, except Sunday, May 17, 2009, the hours are 11:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

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Upland National Little League to open Saturday, March 14

The following article is from guest contributor Sid Robinson from the blog Sid's Side.

Upland National Little League will kick off its 56th year Saturday, March 14, at Bob Hargis Field at Colonies Crossroads Stadium, located in Olivedale Park in Upland.

Former Major League pitcher Dave Coggin, who graduated from Upland High School, will speak to the players and families during the opening ceremonies. In 1995, Coggin was a first-round draft pick (30th overall) out of Upland High and played for three years with the National League’s Philadelphia Phillies (2000-2002).

A full day of activities starts at sunrise with team pictures and a pancake breakfast prepared by members of the Upland Fire Department. Opening ceremonies begin at 10 a.m. with team introductions, special presentations and recognition of the top sellers from the league’s candy fundraiser. Those players will be rewarded for their fundraising prowess with a visit to the league’s famous money booth, where each winning child could walk away with hundreds of dollars.

Outback Steakhouse will serve opening day lunch specials beginning at 11 a.m.

The UNLL season is scheduled to open with four major league division games at Olivedale Park on March 14, with the opener set for 12:30 p.m. The junior league division launches its season at the south field at Memorial Park at 1 p.m. Other Upland National divisions begin their regular seasons on Monday, March 16.

Upland National is the only Little League in the United States that throughout its 55-year history has never charged a signup fee so that every eligible child wishing to play baseball can do so, regardless of his or her family’s economic situation. Every child in the league is provided with a cap and use of quality uniforms, safe equipment and well-maintained fields, largely because of the generous support of families, the community and sponsors.

Olivedale Park is located at 550 E. Eighth Street in Upland, east of Euclid and west of Campus.

For more information, please contact Ralph Cavallo at (951) 990-4595.

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Upland Concert and a Movie in the Park series

If you haven't been to Magnolia Park on Wednesdays in the summer, your missing out on true community event. Especially if you have kids. Formula is Movie+Concert+Free=Great Time.

Held on the lawn, on the east side of the Park and Rec building at Magnolia park, the evening starts at 7:00PM. Generally a band plays classic songs until the sun goes down. The Answer, is one band that is a frequent guest and they put on a very good show. The pic above is from their show last year in Rancho. At about 8:45, they show a family movie.

A snack bar on site but we stop prior and pick food up from wherever.

The highlight of the summer for my family is the kids swap meet, which is held on one of the Wednesdays right before the concert. Last year I spent $30 and probably got about $150 worth of toys.

Expect me to have a booth this year.

The schedule starts this year on July 8 and will continue every Wednesday through August 12. See ya' there.

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Concert at Memorial Park for Ill Upland resident

If you want to go mosh for a cause this weekend, the place to be is Memorial Park. A concert is being held to raise funds for lead singer of the band Vinyl Prophets, who has Leukemia and needs your help to be able to afford the 6.5k a month that the medication costs.

So put on you black socks, black shoes, black t-shirt and shorts and head on over.

To listen to some of their music, check out the Myspace.

For more info about the concert, check out DB.

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Trip Report: 2009 Cable Air Show

Today I attended the 2009 Cable Air Show and the weather was perfect. I arrived a little late so I missed the parachuters and RC Planes (We'll probably head back to see the parachuters tomorrow). The show started at 8AM but I didn't arrive until 10ish.


The place was way more packed than I thought it would be. Upland was out in force! It took 15-20 minutesto get into the free parking but that was mainly due to the "Traffic Control" folks being a little overwhelmed and perhaps a little dehydrated. They kept holding cars at the gate for no reason.

A quick walk from the car got me to the gate. $7 for me, $0 for the kiddie and off we were into the Air Show. Most of the action was just north of the tower. There were plenty of vedors selling toys, books, food, etc. Plane rides were $25 and $15 for the little ones.

Helicopter rides were also going off but I didn't catch the cost there. There was also some inflated slides and junk that kids seem to love.

The car show was packed and had just about every classic represented. I think I heard the MC (who did a great and pro job by the way) say they had to turn cars away because of the shear number.

A few stunt pilots went up and were entertaining. One was even a "Cable Trained" pilot. Another was recovering from a recent accident. Uhhh, stay over the quarry please.

Next came the main event as far as I was concerned. It was a huge Green WWII plane with the letters M2 on the side of it (One of the pics above). I've seen plenty of planes come and go from cable but nothing this size. I was sure he was going to have a problem taking off or landing. Luckily I was wrong, the air strip must be longer than I thought.

You know how kids are. So it's time to leave. Again we miss the parachuters and the P51 Mustang but we'll drive by tomorrow and sit out side to see those crazies jump from planes.

Looking forward to going again next year. ...Read more!

Cable Air Show Trip Report Coming Soon

Later today I'll be posting about my experience at the Cable Air show. Check back tonight for an update with pictures included.

In the mean time, click one of the Topics over on the right to read about specific Upland related topics or visit some of my friends listed under Links.

Or you can just stare at the Demotivational Poster above...but it's only really entertaining for about 12 seconds.
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Pefect Weather for 2009 Air Show Tomorrow

The weather is supposed to be a perfect 72-75 degrees (That's the high) for tomorrow's 2009 Cable Air show. It'll be a little cool in the morning so dress in layers.

That means we'll be able to see any sky writing or vapor trails. Also, no fog or smog to obscure any action and we should have a clear shot at Mt. Baldy.

The Air Show will be Saturday and Sunday. For more details see this.
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2009 Cable Air Show Jan. 10 and 11

Cable Airport in Upland, is once again hosting the 34th Annual Cable Air Show on Jan 10-11. Gates open at 8AM and parking is free. Admission is $7 for Adult, $5 for Students and kids 5 and under get in free.

Per the Air Shows website:

AIR SHOW PROCEEDS GO TO AVIATION RELATED SCHOLARSHIPS
AND COMMUNITY EDUCATION

Attractions include Airplane Acrobatics, RC Aircraft, Skydive/Parachute teams, Plane and Helicopter rides and more.

Recently I've seen a lot more activity over at the airport and I've even seen a teem of 5 planes flying around in formation. Plenty of people will be parked outside the airport to get a look but those that pay to get inside will get much more. ...Read more!