For 76 years, the Seal Beach Lions Club Community Fish Fry has been held without fail making it the longest continuous running event in Seal Beach. While unable to produce the typical Fish Fry this year due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Lions will not allow the event to be cancelled completely.
The community is invited to join the Lions in Eisenhower Park on Saturday, Aug. 29, from 2 to 6 p.m. to eat fish and socialize with proper distancing. Community members are encouraged to purchase to-go fish dinners from The Hangout, The Grill or other Main Street eateries and bring it down to the Pier where tables and chairs will be set up in the park. Tables will be physically distant, cleaned and sanitized regularly, and sanitizer stations will be set up throughout the park.
The Lions Club will sell Fish Fry T-Shirts, give away free reading glasses and take donations for the Seal Beach Lions Foundation. People wearing a Fish Fry T-shirt from a previous year will receive a free Lions Kindness Matters pin. There will be a prize for the oldest Fish Fry T-shirt “worn” to the Fish Fry.
In 1951 Lions club secretary Buell Brown wrote in the club minutes: “The fish fry was originated as a social event … It is the only event of the year that brings the people of the town together for a good old fashion visit, and that one item make our Fish Fry a truly worth-while Lions activity. The Fish Fry has never been operated with the idea of making any money, just friends, yet it has never failed to pay us for our effort, with a nice sum for the treasury.”
This tradition lives on with the Seal Beach Lions Club’s modified Community Fish Fry in 2020. The Lions look forward to seeing you (from a distance) on August 29.
