Taking fun to Valencia Street

Converted SWAT team van operated by the city brings toys and games to Costa Mesa’s poorer neighborhoods.COSTA MESA -- Valencia Street was nearly motionless Wednesday afternoon, with cars parked along the curb and the sky a faded gray. Few people ventured outside their apartments.

In the middle of the street, though, was a small center of life, barricaded on both ends by yellow signs reading “Caution: Kids at Play.” The Mobile Recreation Van, operated by the city of Costa Mesa, never stops making its weekly rounds to poor neighborhoods -- not even during the slowest weeks of the year.

“It especially helps them knowing that we’re here at the same time, same day, same hours every year,” said Lisa McPherson, Costa Mesa’s recreation coordinator, watching a group of boys play table soccer on the blacktop.

Every Wednesday, the Mobile Recreation Van -- a former SWAT vehicle the city renovated in 1999 -- stops for three hours on Valencia, located near Sonora and Davis elementary schools. The van visits three other streets Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Each time, the volunteer supervisors bring out art supplies, pool tables, sporting equipment and more for anyone who comes to play.

Usually, the van generates a crowd of anywhere from 50 to 80 children. On Wednesday, the group was smaller, but large enough for two hockey teams to face off on the asphalt while others made crepe-paper flowers and played cards on the side.

Most of the children who attend the van’s events are among Costa Mesa’s poorer residents, and some have little to play with at home.

“I don’t have a lot of games,” said Sarahi Terrones, 6, a first-grader at Sonora Elementary School. “I only have toys.”

Sarahi, who has attended recreation van events since she was 4, spent much of Wednesday afternoon playing Jenga, a game in which two players build a structure with thin wooden blocks, then take turns trying to rearrange them without knocking down the entire stack.

McPherson oversees recreation and the van’s schedule, but she leaves it to college student volunteers to supervise the action. Maria Duarte, an Orange Coast College student and playground supervisor for the Huntington Beach City School District, has volunteered with the recreation van for the last year.

“I just love working with kids,” she said. “You build a relationship with them, and everybody’s different.”

Nearly all of the children on the street Wednesday came there every week, but some were newcomers. Brothers Edgar and Edwin Benjume, who hail from North Carolina, came to Costa Mesa to visit their cousin for the holidays. Edwin, 11, said he welcomed the vacation.

“It’s, like, warm here, and sometimes it’s really cold over there,” he said.20051229is8lvnnc(LA)20051229is8luyncPHOTOS BY KENT TREPTOW / DAILY PILOT(LA)Above, Edgar Benjume, 9, left, and Rossy Sarabia, 7, cheer as they score a goal while playing table soccer in Costa Mesa on Wednesday. Below, Alvin Nguyen of the Mobile Recreation program helps Sarahi Terrones, 6, make a paper flower on Valencia Street on Wednesday.