“We had over 4,000 people yesterday,” said Festival Co-chair Bill Grant, who planned the event with Co-chair Mary Mata. “I talked to a young guy last night from Los Angeles County” who learned of the festival through the ambitious advertising campaign. “He said for three bucks it’s the cheapest show in town! We’re having fun, this is awesome and everyone has been a delight to work with. Even the Downtown Ventura Kiwanis came out today to help us, and the carnival is doing great. See that Ferris wheel? It’s about 100-feet high and we’ve nicknamed it Wally’s Wheel,” because City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz insisted that this year’s festival feature the carnival staple.“Everybody absolutely enjoyed it,” said Bobkiewicz. “The Ferris wheel made our festival more of a big deal... it’s taken us three years to move from Veterans Park to Harding Park and to a different level. We’ll be better prepared for next year.”“The festival has been great,” said Sharon Guadagno of Guadagno & Sons, the carnival operators who have worked with the Kiwanis for about 20 years. “The people, the weather...we always enjoy coming to Santa Paula.”And everyone enjoys the signature Guadagno corn dogs with the custom-blended light batter: “The only time I eat a corn dog all year is here, they’re the best,” said Janet Grant.Three-year-old Gabriel Meza had won a small stuffed tiger at one of the game booths “All by himself,” noted his mother Vanessa. Gabriel said his favorite carnival ride was the tall Super Slide and the slide inside the Mirror Magic attraction. “I liked that one,” Gabriel confided solemnly.The weekend long lineup of bands included Desperado: Tribute to the Eagles, Charles Law & Jagged, Tierra, Malo, House Arrest and the Piru River Band, as well as international star Little Joe Familia and Los Nuevos Del Norte. “Next year the Citrus Festival will be even bigger,” Bill Grant vowed.
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The carnival at the Citrus Festival brought out large crowds looking for that scary ride. (Above left) These two girls found that ride. (Above right) Everyone had a great time at the Citrus Festival Parade last Saturday. Citrus and avocados were the order of the day as these three walk down the parade route. Photos by Don Johnson |
Citrus Festival brings a big weekend in Santa Paula
July 20, 2005
Thousands jam Harding Park for 38th Kiwanis Citrus Festival!
Santa Paula News
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula TimesCitrus was everybody’s top menu choice during the weekend’s 38th Annual Kiwanis Club Citrus Festival that brought thousands of people to Harding Park. Headline entertainment, carnival rides, fabulous foods and gifts, contests and competitions and the Limoneira, Citrus & Avocado Pavilion were attractions that couldn’t be missed.Saturday was the 38th Annual Citrus Festival Parade that brought huge crowds to the Main Street area. But parade goers first had their eyes on the sky for dramatic flybys by Santa Paula Airport aviators, who thrilled the crowds with modern and vintage aircraft zipping overhead.Moderated by Peggy Kelly, with music supplied by sound assistant Oscar Olivares of the city’s Recreation Department, this year’s procession centered on America’s Citrus Capital on Parade and honored Limoneira Co. President/CEO Harold Edwards as Grand Marshal. There were also two touching tributes to the late George Espinosa of Santa Paula, the Singing Cowboy, who had participated in hundreds of parades countywide.Entries ranged from the Wells Fargo Stagecoach to the Aviation Museum of Santa Paula’s Little Woody airplane. Children of the Harvest, Dyer’s Painting Service, Growing Old with Citrus, sport teams, car clubs, the Topa Topa Flywheelers, Santa Paula Motorcycle Riders, Joe and Taira Cyarces Toyland Train, the Santa Paula Police Department and Fire Department, Ventura County Fire Department, baton twirlers, Stingray Bicycle Club, low riders, Flores Brothers Karate Studio, and the dancing El Maquey Andalusian Horses thrilled the parade crowd. The City Council rode together on the SPFD’s vintage Mack engine, Supervisor Kathy Long waved from a conventional convertible, and Assemblywoman Audra Strickland also made sure to say hello to the happy crowd.“Casey and I started planning the parade about two months ago,” said Dan Salas. “This is our second time and we’re still trying! The weather was gorgeous... I was worried there might be a heavy fog that would have meant no flyby, but it was great.”Casey Salas agreed that it was a great parade, and said she hopes to be able to ride her horse in next year’s event.The festival at Harding Park, the largest celebration of citrus in the nation, drew thousands of people throughout the weekend who wanted to enjoy Santa Paula’s mellower weather and gentle breeze. “People were shoulder to shoulder Saturday night,” said Kiwanis Club President Elect Sheryl Misenhimer. “It’s been a great festival, a lot of Santa Paula pride.”The Citrus & Avocado Pavilion greeted visitors with antique trucks - the 1922 Union Oil Tanker among them - and signage detailing the area’s rich history. “I saw a lot of people from out of town and got to watch some of the food competitions,” said John Nichols of John Nichols Gallery, who had a booth inside the pavilion. “I even got to eat some of the contest leftovers!”
