Pinedorado is coming back to SLO County this Labor Day weekend. Here’s what to expect
Cambria’s popular Pinedorado festival will come “roaring back” this Labor Day weekend after a lengthy coronavirus-related hiatus, the Lions Club of Cambria announced Monday.
Free Pinedorado events are traditionally enjoyed by thousands each year on the grounds adjacent to the Veterans Memorial Building, 1000 Main St. Attendees include residents and people from all over San Luis Obispo County and California.
This year’s festival will be held Sept. 4 through 6.
There was no Pinedorado in 2020 due to precautions designed to slow the spread of COVID-19.
What’s in store for 2021 Pinedorado?
According to the club’s newsletter, 2021 Pinedorado festivities will feature nearly all of the traditional events, including a Sept. 4 morning parade down Main Street, plus carnival games, kiddie rides, music, dancing and raffles on the Pinedorado grounds. (The grand raffle prize, $1,000, will be awarded on Sept. 6.)
There will also food booths, some of them serving up the beef and chicken barbecue for which the celebration has been lauded.
A Wheels in Motion car exhibition will be held on Sept. 5.
The Follies show is the only Pinedorado element that won’t happen this September.
Although club organizers tried to get the Follies going, according to Lions Club president Aaron Linn, “there were not enough people trying out to make up a cast.”
Also, he said, “we were not sure if people would want to pack into the vets hall to see the show,” and nightly packed houses are essential to help offset the cost of producing the Follies.
That doesn’t mean there won’t be a 2021 Follies, Linn said. “We’re hoping to do something later in the year, maybe around holiday time.”
Those plans aren’t confirmed yet, he added, and the end result will be announced later this year.
The Wheels in Motion event will be different than a traditional car show, Linn said.
“It will be by invitation only,” he said.
The show could include a display of “interesting, odd, fast, old and new autos owned by residents and visitors,” according to the newsletter.
Linn’s term as president ends July 1, but he and Andy Zinn, a past club president with lots of Pinedorado experience, will co-chair the Labor Day weekend festivities.
