By Ian Thompson | DAILY REPUBLIC | March 11, 2009
Sacramento rider Peter Zernik makes a turn during the first heat of the Fast Stand Up class Jet Ski races in Suisun City last October. Photo by Mike Greener
SUISUN CITY - A bigger, family-friendly kite festival, a new June event called Shore Fest and jet ski racing at night are among the expanded events this year on the city's waterfront.
There is even talk of importing sand to an empty lot near the Suisun Marina during the Shore Fest so the city can hold a beach volleyball contest. The synthetic ice rink was a hit last December, so the city is thinking beach volleyball in June could be one as well.
'We are focusing on kids and families to get them out to enjoy our waterfront,' said Mick Jessop, director of the city's Recreation and Community Services Department.
The Friday Nights at the Waterfront, Saturday Nights at the Movies and The Waterfront Jazz Series are coming back and will start in early July.
The Kids & Kites Festival on May 2 is being expanded to offer activities such as slides, rock walls and a trackless train.
'We are making everything center truly around the children,' said Anita Skinner of the city's Redevelopment Agency who organizes the events. 'We are trying to bring in kite clubs for demonstrations of different kinds of kites.'
The city stripped the It's a June Thing Festival of its title and renamed it the Shore Fest at Our Particular Harbor. The new event will debut June 6. It will feature a Jimmy Buffett tribute band and the beach volleyball contest if all the preparations work out.
August Fest and its microbrews will return on Aug. 1 and feature the first of two nighttime jet ski races, which will be held just before that evening's Saturday Night at the Movies offering.
'The racers are excited about racing the jet skis under lights and we want to give that a shot,'
Jessop said.
This will be the second year that the Suisun City Marina will be a part of the Diablo Valley Jet Ski racing club's race season.
See the complete story at the Daily Republic online.
