Santa wasted no time taking to the water in Long Beach as he stopped by El Dorado East Regional Park to meet with the local community and cast a line. He packed his fishing bag with extra fishy gifts for the community and a $22k check for the park.
Where Should Santa Fish After Christmas lived up to its name, drawing local community members to come and watch the fabled Christmas icon do some much needed fishing. The event, sponsored by fishing tackle manufacturer Berkley, took place at the El Dorado East Regional Park and Santa Claus dished out thousands of dollars in fishing equipment to the kids and adults in attendance, as well as a donation to the park.
“Traditionally, Santa enjoys his fishing trip after the holiday season alone and Berkley has always been a supporter of his trips”, said Jon Schlosser, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Berkley. “Even though this year was hectic for him, we asked Santa if he felt like he had one more gift in him to help the children of Long Beach get a chance to enjoy the sport he loves so much and he graciously agreed to help us out. In a time when more Americans are fishing than ever before, both Santa and all of us at Berkley Fishing wanted to continue in the tradition of ensuring that kids have an opportunity to enjoy the sport, which is why our donation to the park will be used to complete some much-needed improvements so the community of Long Beach can continue to enjoy the fishing in the park for many years to come.”
With the generous donation from Santa and Berkley, these improvements will now be possible. The project includes improved youth programs including an annual youth fishing derby, improvements to the 500-person capacity campground used by scouts and youth groups fishing the lakes, as well as education for the community and new trash can lids and fishing line disposal bins.
“We are so excited that Santa visited Long Beach and fished in our lake at El Dorado East Regional Park. This was a wonderful opportunity to educate our community and the nation about urban fishing opportunities in Long Beach and we look forward to educating park-goers about responsible fishing habits and conservation efforts.” – Trinka Rowsell, Executive Director of Partners for Parks.
