Pinedorado is coming back to Cambria. How do you plan to celebrate?
Yes, COVID-19 is still here. But enough precautionary guidelines for public health have been lifted or relaxed that life can inch back toward what we’ve been missing for so many quarantined months.
In Cambria, that means the 72nd annual Pinedorado festival, which traditionally takes place during Labor Day weekend, is going to happen!
After being idled last year because of the coronavirus pandemic, Pinedorado will return Saturday, Sept. 4, with a procession down Main Street and a celebration at the Pinedorado Grounds, next to the Veterans Memorial Building, 1000 Main St. The parade is set to start at 9:30 a.m.
And the fun — from bingo to barbecue — just expands from there.
The Cambria Lions Club is encouraging everybody to attend, and directly participate in Pinedorado if possible. The theme this year is “Roaring Back.”
It’s time to sign up and saddle up.
What’s in store for Pinedorado in 2021?
So, what’s in store for Pinedorado this year?
There’ll be some changes to the festivities, due in part to the pandemic.
There will be no Pinedorado Follies this year. The Sunday car show has morphed into a classic car exhibition, and the celebrated beef and chicken barbecue meals will be available only on Saturday and Sunday.
It’s a good thing the Cambria Lions Club opted to bring back the parade and all its trappings this year. Otherwise, Cambrians just might have gone rogue, as Cayucos did July 4 when they put on their own unofficial Independence Day procession.
For me, there’s nothing like a good old hometown parade.
I’ve seen the Rose Bowl parade in Pasadena and the Thanksgiving Day parade in New York City. They’re jaw-droppingly grand.
But hometown parades are still hands-down the best. They have heart.
Pinedorado parade brings joy to community
At our Pinedorado parade, we cheer for the Coast Union High School Broncos.
We wave at friends on the Rotary Club float. We’re amazed by the Estrella Warbirds Museum military aircraft flyover.
We also marvel at the Clydesdales, giggle at cyclists in tutus and applaud the dancers. And we roar our approval for the Grizzly Academy marchers, to let those youngsters know we’re so proud of what they’re doing to turn their lives around.
We gather along the route, salute the flag, sing with the bands and, at least for a little while, turn our emotional clocks back to simpler times.
Cambria’s 2021 Labor Day weekend event is still more than a month away, but once the Lions Club decided earlier this month to hold the festival, the planning began in earnest.
As soon as the word spread that the parade is back, I envisioned excitement beginning to build.
I could picture people arm-twisting pals into loaning their flat-bed truck for float displays. Business owners, club leaders and nonprofit organizers huddling to plan their parade entries. Community members crafting costumes, detailing cars, grooming dogs and horses and scheduling rehearsals in anticipation of the big event.
At least, that’s how it’s supposed to work.
Will Cambria embrace festival again?
I’m so hoping that the Pinedorado participation ennui that permeated our community in previous years will have evaporated with the pandemic-era realization of how much we all need each other and need to celebrate with each other at the slightest provocation.
Friends, our Pinedorado parade is the perfect opportunity to do that.
Is that a little corny? You bet. Parades are supposed to be. They’re old-time Americana strolling literally down Main Street. Call Aunt Bea and have a blast.
Got a grand idea for a float? Go for it!
Want to walk pulling your tail-wagging dog in a wagon? You bet.
Or maybe you’d rather dance, sing, juggle, play music, carry flowers or walk along with your friends, carrying homemade signs saying “Welcome back, Pinedorado!”
Can you volunteer for Pinedorado? Your help would be accepted with cheers and open arms.
Sign up to participate in the Pinedorado parade by going to www.cambrialions.org/pinedorado/parade. Simply fill out the form and click “send.”
Nonprofit entries participate for free. Individuals pay $15 per entry, group entries cost $30 and businesses pay $60 — money that goes into Lions Club coffers to help fund community needs.
It’s a small price to pay to be an integral part of something with such a huge heart.
Can’t be in the parade? You can still watch it, and revel in the love and North Coast community spirit on display.
Can’t be in Cambria that weekend? Participate in your own community’s events. There are lots of them on the calendar elsewhere in San Luis Obispo County.
Wrap yourselves in that warm, hometown feeling wherever you are, knowing that some much-loved traditions are back. Finally.
Got questions? Call Greg Aitkens, Lions Club president and parade chairman, at 949-275-8581. Or chat with Pinedorado co-chairs Andy Zinn or Aaron Linn, wherever you can find them; try at the Lions Club-sponsored Cambria farmers markets on Friday.
Then get ready for a good ole knee-slappin’, boot-stompin’, horn-tootin’ time when Pinedorado comes roaring back from the past, propelling Cambria and the Central Coast into our fun-lovin’ future.
This story was originally published July 20, 2021 at 5:05 AM.
