Mesquite Days to celebrate city’s 40 years

By JIM LUKSIC

The Progress

Mesquite Days – which includes a carnival and parade to celebrate the city’s 40th anniversary – is slated for May 1-4.

Nicholas Montoya, director of Athletics & Leisure Services for the city, said his department has hosted and operated the event for three decades now – having inherited the reins from a committee of local volunteers. Mesquite became incorporated on April 24, 1984.

“We have brought back many of the things that used to be operated back in the day,” Montoya said in reference to such events as the following: Family Fun Night, set for 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 1, at the baseball park on Old Mill Road; Mayor’s Pancake Breakfast, starting at 7 a.m. Saturday, May 4, at Family Heritage Park on Arrowhead Lane; and Mesquite Days Parade, which goes in motion at 10 a.m. on May 4.

The procession’s staging is scheduled for two hours before at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints parking lot on Arrowhead Lane.

Montoya pointed out a host of additional activities are on tap to celebrate the city’s heritage and future.
“We are extremely excited for this year’s events and programs for families and the surrounding community,” he said.

The carnival festivities take place throughout the four days at the Rec Center’s west field located at 100 W. Old Mill Road. Tickets are on sale for $35 apiece.

Entertainment consists of live music performed by Dealt-A-Straight, Off The Rails, Mesquite Cafe Blues Band, Cinco De Mayo Committee (Mariachi), and Dry Heat.

Mesquite Mayor Al Litman, who will host the pancake breakfast and Family Night, asserted he expects this year’s commemoration to be the best yet.
“I was proud to be mayor for the 30th anniversary, and now even more so for our 40th,” he explained, adding that he won’t give a speech. “The event is all about Mesquite.”

Observing and reflecting on the city’s history wouldn’t be complete without the Mesquite Heritage Museum at 35 W. Mesquite Boulevard. Just ask its new coordinator Mary Phalan, who took over the facility in February after director Elspeth Kuta retired.

“I’ve been working on the museum’s storyboard featuring the early pioneers,” said Phalan, who has lived in Mesquite for a dozen years and had a previous stint working at the museum. The building is listed in the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

The storyboard (in the old firehouse) spotlights a handful of stories: Mesquite’s settlers, automobiles and roads, sidewalks, and the casinos.
“We’re celebrating the tenacity of our settlers – who they were and how they survived – who made it possible for us to enjoy this valley today,” Phalan said. “When people walk through our museum, they get an appreciation for how Mesquite started.”

As a salute to the city’s 40th year, a new pickleball tournament – featuring prize money – is on tap simultaneously for May 1-4 at the Old Mill Pickleball Complex and Conestoga Park on Conestoga Parkway.

For more information, visit www.mesquitenv.gov/events or the city’s Facebook page.
“We hope all of our community members and residents will enjoy the festivities we have outlined,” Montoya said.