Supervisor Perez declares today Hershey Bears Day and honors Firebirds’ magical inaugural season
Today, June 23, is officially Hershey Bears Day in the Fourth District of Riverside County.
It's the unfortunate result of a friendly wager between Riverside County Supervisor Manuel Perez and Dauphin County Commissioners Mike Pries, Chad Saylor, and George P. Hartwick III before the start of the Calder Cup Finals.
The Bears beat the Coachella Valley Firebirds in a historic seven-game series that went into overtime on multiple games.
As part of the wager, Hershey will be sent Coachella Valley-grown dates and grapes highlighting our region’s agriculture, Perez's office noted.
Supervisor Perez encourages Coachella Valley growers, restaurants and community members to take up Dauphin County on their solicitation of date recipes so our friends have additional ways to savor them.
Those with date recipe suggestions can submit them through at www.dauphincounty.gov.
Perez also issued a proclamation issued a Fourth District Riverside County proclamation honoring the Coachella Valley Firebirds on the incredible season they just had and praising what the team accomplished in only their first year.
“As the saying goes, you win some and you lose some and unfortunately for us CV Firebirds fans, we lost and it hurts,” Perez said. “But allow me the time to recognize the Dauphin County Commissioners for being great sports and for making this series even more exciting. I just wanted to ensure folks that we take it in the chin and we acknowledge it. I congratulate the teams and their fan base. You all made it all worthwhile.”
The Pennsylvania-based officials look forward to receiving Coachella Valley-grown grapes and dates and appreciate that “Hershey Bears Day” has been declared in the Southern California community.
“We’re soliciting recipes for how best we can prepare and enjoy 22 pounds of dates, which I suspect pair especially well with Hershey’s chocolate,” Pries said.
“The Hershey Bears’ accomplishments in recent weeks have been a source of great pride in this office and throughout Dauphin County,” Saylor said. “I’m excited to see the cup when it is brought home.”
“Supervisor Perez has been a good sport throughout the championships play. I always suspected the Bears would come out on top, and those suspicions were proven right after some tense, nail‑biting moments in the final game,” Hartwick said.
The leaders' wager wasn't the only one to take place during the series. The Firebirds and the Bears also made a wager where the winning team would receive the $10,000. The winning team vowed to donate the ten thousand dollar prize to a charity of their choice.
