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REENACTOR EVENT SCHEDULE
8:30 Church Call. (Sunday only)
9:00 Officers Call. (All unit officers and civilian unit leaders--Saturday only) (Stage)
9:30 Division Officers Call. (Respective division headquarters)
10:00 Event begins.
10:30 War on the Home Front. (Civilian Camp)
10:30 Band Concert: The Band of the Richmond Howitzer Battalion. (Stage)
11:00 Presidential Press Conference. (Stage)
11:30 Artillery Demonstration. (Battlefield)
11:30 Band Concert: The Mountain Fifes & Drums Corps. (Battlefield)
11:20 Weapons Inspection, Safety Briefing, and Division Formation. (Respective sides' camps)
11:30 Division Formation. (Respective sides' camps)
12:00 FIRST ENGAGEMENT, FOLLOWED BY THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS
12:45 Infantry and Cavalry Demonstrations. (Battlefield)
1:15 Evans & Rogers Sing. (Stage)
2:00 A Conversation with President Lincoln and The Generals. (Stage)
2:30 Band Concert: The Mountain Fifes & Drums Corps. (Battlefield)
2:30 Weapons Inspection, Safety Briefing, and Division Formation. (Respective sides' camps)
3:00 SECOND ENGAGEMENT, FOLLOWED BY THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS
4:00 Artillery Demonstration. (Battlefield)
4:00 Band Concert and Victorian Dance Demonstration. The Armory Band (Saturday Only)
5:00 Formal Program Ends.
6:00 PARK CLOSES.
7:00 Dance--The Armory Band with Logan Creighton and Heather St. Clair as Dance Callers. (Saturday Only)
**United States Sanitary Commission demonstrations throughout the day in its camp.
Field Hospital demonstrations throughout the day in its camp.
As you can see from the schedule, the event will be filled with musical concerts and performances.
Online ticket purchases by the public have already begun. Our event will be supported with radio, newspaper, and paid Facebook advertising. As a result, I believe that we can expect excellent spectator attendance. I am particularly pleased that so many reenactor units have announced that they will be attending the event.
One thing that needs to be addressed is that there is "word on the street" that this site poses a security problem. I am not sure what motivates the people who start the rumor mill in motion, but the simple fact is that there will be 24/7 professional security on site throughout the event.
Note that for the dance with music provided by The Armory Band and dance callers Logan Creighton and Heather St. Clair, The Wounded Soldier Saloon will be offering discounted drinks to reenactors.
So, come join us on April 6-7 at this great new addition to the annual reenactor schedule, and have a great weekend with your friends. We should have a rollicking good time!
Ed Mann
November 24,2018
My fellow reenactors,
In my message last week, I announced that the Corona event on April 6-7, 2019, was near where the cities of Chino Hills and Corona meet. I said that it was approximately one mile east of Prado Regional Park "as the crow flies." I mentioned that the route to the new site for many reenactors will take them directly past the park entrance we used for the old Prado event. Interestingly, some people chose to interpret what I said as saying that the new event was one mile east of the Prado Park entrance, and rumors were beginning to spread. In response to the considerable interest this new event is receiving, let me clarify.
Because so many are interested and have asked for the exact location; the event will take place at Riverview Recreation Park, 14600 Baron Drive in Corona. (This area was incorporated ten years or so ago as part of the City of Eastvale, but not many people know where Eastvale is, so the owners of the site continue to use the old Corona address. FYI, the "Moorpark" event at Tierra Rejada Ranch was not in the City of Moorpark.) For those of you who live in the Orange County/Riverside County area, the entrance to Riverview Recreation Park is about a half-mile from the entrance to Raahauge's Shooting Range, a location many will be familiar with.
Riverview Recreation Park is the site of other large events each year, perhaps most notably the Koroneburg Renaissance Festival. We will not be using the Medieval village there for our event, however. We will be using the land between the front gate and the village as our reenactment site. Photos of the concrete stage and dance floor and the battlefield can be seen above.
For those of you who attended the old Prado event, since the new site is only one mile or so away from the park, you can expect to see the usual lush Prado greenery there on the very same weekend in April. In the pictures above that were taken last week, consider that everything that is "tan" in appearance will be spring green next April when the event takes place.
Horsemen, this battlefield is "good ground." The dimensions of battlefield will not require you to pick your way down the field while trying to avoid "wounded/dead" reenactors.
This event will be sponsored by the successor to Dick Wixon, whose company and non-profit sponsored the Vista and Long Beach events.
Reenactors attending the Corona event will be classified as docent volunteers for the non-profit corporation. This will allow reenactors to take advantage of tax benefits available.
The reenactor registration fee will be $5.00, a "reenactor friendly" fee that reenactors are accustomed to paying.
As usual with events, the sponsor will provide reenactors with insurance coverage.
And, as usual with events, the sponsor will provide the port-a-potties, hay, and the usual amenities.
I am happy to report that considerable money will be spent on radio and print advertising in order to maximize spectator attendance. This event will certainly not be depending on word of mouth to get the public there. (The Koroneburg Renaissance Festival, for example, draws 12,000 people to this site over four weekends each year.)\
This new Corona event is located conveniently for the majority of reenactors.
From the heart of downtown Los Angeles, the site is about 47 miles away.
From the heart of downtown Santa Ana, the site is about 28 miles away.
From the heart of Escondido, the site is about 70 miles away.
You can expect other "bells and whistles" to be added to this event as we draw closer.
Sutlers, please advise me if you will be attending and provide me with an estimate of your space requirements.
As a result of the extensive media advertising, reenactors can expect to have an appreciative, "Civil War friendly" audience that also offers the prospect of greater numbers of recruits for the hobby. Unlike the Cowboy Festival, where we were simply an "add on" aspect of a much larger event, Civil War reenactors will be the central focus in Corona.
Much work will take place in making this a "Tier One Event" on the reenactor calendar for years to come.
Reenactor interest appears to be high. I hope that each of you will join us there in April!
Ed Mann
Please forward this message on to anyone who might be interested.
Reenactor Information
Directions
Photographs of Riverview Recreation Park Battlefield taken on Tuesday, November 13.
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Below are pictures of the planned event area
Riverview Recreation Park
April 6-7, 2019
14600 Baron Drive Corona, CA