Volunteers sought for Oct. 18 Main Street clean up effort

Peter Bidegain is hoping Ramona residents will join him in his efforts to “Make Ramona Clean Again.” 

Volunteers are asked to sign up ahead of time for the Saturday, Oct. 18 event, which will have residents cleaning up as much of the town as they can, beginning on Main Street. 

“This year I’m doing it in anticipation of Merchant’s Trick or Treat on Main and the Witch’s Walk,” said Bidegain, owner of Reds, Whites & Brews on Main. “I’d like Main Street to look clean and nice for the kids and everyone else.”

Those willing to help should let Bidegain know what kind of cleaning supplies they can bring, such as shovels, leaf blowers, brooms or heavy-duty trash bags, as well as their T-shirt size. Volunteers can email their information to: info@redswhitesandbrews.wine.

The cleaning crew will meet at 6:30 a.m. in the parking lot of Reds, Whites & Brews for free coffee, hot chocolate and donuts. A “safety green” souvenir T-shirt commemorating the event will be given to the first 50 volunteers. 

The cleanup takes place from 7 to 9 a.m. 

After the cleanup, Bidegain plans to hand out prizes in the parking lot. 

Every year, to sweeten the pot, Bidegain spends hours hitting the street and talking to all the merchants and business owners he can in an effort to secure donated prizes.

“It’s a biggggg extravaganza giveaway,” he said. “At the last event, we had so many donations that everyone who participated got a prize.”

This year, he is expecting to hit his goal of at least 50 prizes, and maybe even more.

“I can’t thank the merchants enough for supporting this effort,” Bidegain said. “We’ve got all kinds of fun stuff piling up.”

Paul Zawilenski said he has swept the streets of Ramona “many a time.”

The immediate past president of the Ramona Chamber of Commerce said that even though he has worked with a number of organizations around town, Bidegain’s event stands out. 

“Quite frankly, no one really does this,” he said. “It’s unique because Peter is a business owner on Main, but he has the pride of ownership not only for the front of his own business store but all of old town Ramona.” 

“From pushing a broom to pulling weeds, by cleaning up the empty storefronts, doorways and windowsills, it helps all of the neighbors,” he said. 

Bidegain said the idea of a large-scale cleanup came to him back in 2017, after a friend of his from Arizona came out to visit.

“I wanted to take him out to dinner at a restaurant on Main Street, but as we walked along the sidewalk, my buddy pointed out to me how dirty things were around town,” he recalled.

As the friend mentioned the dirty, unkempt sidewalks, trash in the street and the overgrown trees, Bidegain decided something needed to be done.

“It was just prior to the Ramona Rodeo parade in May of that year, and I kept thinking we can’t have the parade and all everyone notices is the dirty sidewalks and curbs,” Bidegain said. 

That year, he put together the first “Make Ramona Clean Again” event, which “took off like a wildfire,” he said.

The only cancellation for the event was in 2020, the year the pandemic hit. 

Although Pat Frei lives in Rancho San Diego, where he takes care of his elderly mother, he will be participating for the first time in the cleaning efforts.

He and Bidegain have known each other for years — Frei has worked at Bidegain’s car stereo installation business, Pacesetter Stereo, since the 1990s, and now works at Reds, Whites & Brews three days a week. 

“The days I work at the bar, I do all the cleaning up front and on the patio. With all the cars driving by, a lot of dirt gets thrown up on the sidewalks and buildings,” Frei said. “I think the best thing we can do is get out there once a year and clean that stuff up.”

Frei has another reason for wanting to keep Ramona clean — he hopes to move there some day. 

“My favorite thing about Ramona, starting with Peter’s bar, is being able to listen to so much music,” he said. “The music venues are really close to each other and it’s fun to go back and forth listening to the music. I just love the fact that you can do that.”

Zawilenski and Frei are ready to do whatever Bidegain wants done on cleaning day.

“If you live in Ramona, you love Ramona and if you love Ramona, being able to do something for our town is always very rewarding,” Zawilenski said.

For more information, contact Peter Bidegain at Reds, Whites and Brews, 629 Main Street, or call 760-440-9305. Hours are Mondays from 5 to 9:30 p.m., Wednesdays and Thursdays from 4 to 10 p.m., Fridays from 3 to 11 p.m., Saturdays from 4 to 11 p.m., Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. and closed Tuesdays.