Fairs and festivals of the 50s

JasonLewis · Status: Offline

RE: Fairs and festivals of the 50s

cat · Status: Offline

last I ever knew, Doug Archer from the fire dept. had the master copy. I would think that there must be more copies now.

Paul Penna · Status: Offline

cat wrote:

Paul, the Larkspur Heritage Committee has a movie that shows parts of the 49er festival, including a ferris wheel in the now-parking lot...
With all your photos, you should give Larkspur a call, because I hear they are working on updating the History of larkspur book that they published years ago, for the upcoming 100th anniversary.

My sister Rosemary and I have talked with some of the Heritage Committee people, so they do know about us, the photos and the web site. Man, I'd like to see that movie! They ought to YouTube it or somebody should host it so Jason could link to it from here.

-- Edited by Paul Penna at 23:18, 2007-03-23

cat · Status: Offline

Paul, the Larkspur Heritage Committee has a movie that shows parts of the 49er festival, including a ferris wheel in the now-parking lot. I watched the movie at the 75th Larkspur anniversery celebration, somewhere around 1989 0r 1990. I still have an old costume that my grandmother used to wear for the festival. Everyone would dress up like 49ers, the goldrush kind, and have a fantastic street party.
With all your photos, you should give Larkspur a call, because I hear they are working on updating the History of larkspur book that they published years ago, for the upcoming 100th anniversary.

CMM · Status: Offline

Pangolin,
Check out this link to Sunny Hills and click on "News and Events". Go to the newsletter and scroll down to page 6, the article about the 107th and final Grape Festival. It will give you a brief history. It's the only thing I could find about it on the internet. The very last Grape Festival was held at Larkspur Landing last year. It had been held at many different locations over the years, but started at Marin Art and Gardens. I remember my Girl Scout troop had a booth at the Grape Festival in the late 60's, when it was held at the Northgate Mall. I don't remember what we were selling, but I know it wasn't cookies. It eventually moved to Larkspur Landing, I believe sometime in the 80's. I too remember the Hawaiian Lei candy necklaces. I also loved the banana nut bread. It's too bad this great tradition ended last year.

http://www.sunnyhillsservices.org

-- Edited by CMM at 19:56, 2007-03-24

Pangolin · Status: Offline

I seem to recall something called the Grape Festival that was held in several locations in Marin. This would have been the 60s, but I imagine it probably started in the 50s. The last place I remember it was in the big empty lot in Red Hill, before they build the shopping center there. Does anybody remember this? As a child I most recall that they sold necklaces made of round sugar candies wrapped in bright colored plastic wrappers, sort of like a Hawaian lei.

-- Edited by Pangolin at 18:32, 2007-03-23

Paul Penna · Status: Offline

These were largely home-brew affairs, sometimes with a few carnival rides and a "midway" with booths at which you could plunk down money and try to win stuff. You'd put a dime on a numbered square on the counter, a guy would spin a wheel and if your number came up you could pick something out from shelves full of colorful junk. Or you could lob ping-pong balls at little fishbowls with a lonely goldfish circling in them. If you hit one, you could take it home and the fish would die within a couple days.

Larkspur had the 49er Fiestas in the 40s and 50s, which I think I vaguely remember. They were held in what was then a vacant lot at the corner of Ward and Magnolia, across from the Blue Rock. Now it's the city parking lot. For many years before that it had a sign "Future Home of the Food Center." That was Fred Schefer's grocery store, which needless to say never made it there.

Then there were the church festivals. St. Patrick's in Larkspur held theirs in another vacant dirt lot next to the church, now the site of the church hall and the school playground. Mainly, though, I remember St. Rita's Festival in Fairfax, which we attended with my godmother (who was also named Rita, appropriately enough) and her family, who lived in Fairfax. It was held in a grove of redwood trees a couple blocks up Bolinas Ave. All that colorful nightime activity was, of course, a special event for an 8-year-old like me, but my big moment came when somebody gave me a dime to bet in one of those spinwheel booths. My number came up, and I chose the biggest teddy bear on the shelf, a bright red and white panda type. My brother or sister suggested I call it "Rufus," and thus began my lifelong fascination with word origins.

Update: Here's a picture of me with Rufus and my other teddy bears (plus Frosty the Snowman) in September 1953, probably shortly after I won him. Taken in our yard at 9 Arch St. in Larkspur.

-- Edited by Paul Penna at 19:13, 2007-04-11