Groveland Life by Kathryn Sibly
Well, Groveland’s largest event of the year is upon us. Saturday, September 19, is the 49er Festival & Chili Cook-Off. It will be a day of fun, family-friendly events.
The day will start out with a pancake breakfast served by Rebekah at 7 a.m. in the Groveland Community Hall. An antique plane flyover of downtown Groveland will happen at 8:45 a.m. The parade through downtown Groveland starts at 9 a.m. The theme for this year’s parade is, “Groveland Goes Red, White, and Blue.” Included in the parade will be locals on horseback, classic cars, Cal-Fire, and this year’s honorary mayor, to name a few.
The parade is quite a sight to see, for as it goes through downtown Groveland, it takes up only one lane of Highway 120. The other lane remains open during the parade so that traffic can get through downtown. The direction of traffic will alternate every fifteen or so vehicles. It is quite amusing to see the tourists on their way to Yosemite realize that they, in a sense, are part of the parade too!
Once the parade ends, the festival will begin in Mary Laveroni Park, a short walk from downtown. Sixty vendors selling wares, arts and crafts, and food will be present. California Dreamin’ and The New Favorites are slated to appear on the music stage. They will be hosted by DJ Randy Meranz of 104.1, The Hawk. There will also be a new “Kid’s Zone,” with all sorts of kid-friendly activities ranging from a skate competition, game zone, bounce house, and a petting zoo. Did I mention there will also be a live auction and raffle prizes, along with a fashion show?
My favorite part of the festival is The Chili Cook-Off, also held in Mary’s Park. Local businesses and groups will whip up their own versions of chili for the masses to sample. The chili is categorized as regular, vegetarian, and chili without beans. The public and a panel of judges will vote for their favorite chili, and there’s even a contest for best decorated booth.
Organizer Tony Flores told me that there will be nine booths serving chili. Some of the more enterprising booths will serve more than one kind of chili. Overall, there will be six chili with beans, four vegetarian, and three without beans. I can honestly say from previous experience that chili without beans is unlike anything I’ve ever had before.
One local business new to the Chili Cook-Off is Pine Mountain Therapy, a physical therapy clinic that changed to private ownership on March 1st of this year. The new owners, Julie and Tony Tanaka, have decided to take on the task of making loads of chili (with beans) – 10 gallons of it. Julie has been busy planning and acquiring supplies for the big day. She said that friends, family, and even patients from the clinic have been helpful in acquiring all the supplies that will be needed to make chili in the park.
And yes, you too can come try all the different chili (and vote for your favorite)! Six dollars will get you a tasting kit, complete with spoon, napkins, voting ballot, and pencil. Tasting starts at 12PM and goes until the chili is gone, sometime around 2 p.m. For those of you who want to wash down all that chili with an ice cold drink, there will be a beer garden along with non-alcoholic beverages available for purchase.
Parking, of course, will be at a premium. You can either create-a-space (just don’t block any driveways or fire hydrants), OR park at Tenaya Elementary and take the free shuttle bus back into town. Groveland is a small town, so none of these places I’ve mentioned are very far from each other.
Whatever your druthers for some good small town entertainment, this Saturday Groveland will have it all. For more details about the day’s events, visit: http://www.groveland.org/49er_festival.html.
