Pinedorado festival in Cambria 1st of multiple volunteer opportunities on North Coast

Pinedorado Days heralds the oncoming season of a march for volunteer efforts that benefit both local, regional and national nonprofits.

The annual Labor Day weekend celebration, organized by the Lion’s Club of Cambria, is possibly Cambria’s biggest opportunity to volunteer your time to the community.

Some of the following volunteer opportunities in September will include local cleanups like Squibbing Day from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 9.

“The event brings Cambria residents together to pick up trash from sidewalks and gutters. Beautify Cambria’s trash, recycling and planter receptacles, (TRPRs, pronounced “trippers”) help contain litter, but some still ends up on the streets.” explained an earlier report in The Tribune.

Staging will be at the Historical Society, 2251 Center Street, Cambria.

The largest volunteer effort on the planet, according to the Ocean Conservancy, is Coastal Cleanup Day, Saturday, Sept 15. The Environmental Center of San Luis Obispo (ECOSLO) coordinates the SLO County efforts. Nearby locations scheduled for cleanup and calling for volunteers are the Elephant Seal Viewing Area, San Simeon Cove/Hearst State Beach, San Simeon, Pico Beach & Creek, San Simeon Campground, Moonstone Beach/Santa Rosa Creek and Fiscalini Ranch Preserve.

I’ll be working San Simeon Cove/Hearst State Beach with P.J. Webb and Carolyn Skinder. We invite interested volunteers to join us. For more information and to sign up for the local efforts, visit the Coastal Cleanup Day website at ecoslo.org/coastal-cleanup-day/.

The Pacific Coast Wine Trail (PCWT) will host a fundraiser for the shining gem of the north coast, the Piedras Blancas Light Station from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 22.

“It’s a Sunset Soiree at the Light Station to celebrate the newly renovated Fog Signal Building. Proceeds from ticket sales and silent auction will be used for restoration projects and educational outreach at the Light Station,” notes PCWT.

For more information, visit pacificcoastwinetrail.com/events/.

The soiree leads right into a new kickoff event for the October Cambria Scarecrow Festival.

“We will host a Seaside Treasure Quest with food and wine on Saturday, Sept. 29. It’s a new concept involving an on-site scavenger hunt set in a beautiful coastal home on five acres north of Cambria. With live music, local wine and local goodies, plus some door prizes, it will be a fun way to … kick off the annual Scarecrow Festival,” Dennis Frahmann wrote in an email.

Tickets are $45 and available at EventBrite.com.

Recently, I volunteered to help out our local theatre production at the Cambria Center for the Arts. The level of commitment and volunteerism to make that production a worthy effort gobsmacked me.

But then, I’ve always been a theatre-goer and not involved at all with a production. With that in mind, I’d be remiss not to mention the Friday and Saturday, Sept. 21 and 22, Readers Theatre, “Eleemosynary.” Volunteers are greatly appreciated, said theatre director Jill Turnbow. Give her a call at 805-927-8190 to discover how you can use your volunteer efforts to support local theatre.

And to think that all this September opportunity to support our community begins with a three-day, funny named event called Pinedorado Days!

This story was originally published August 21, 2018 at 12:10 PM.