Pioneer Day Parade to be broadcast live on Bearcat Country
84th annual event is Oct. 11
This year’s Paso Robles Pioneer Day Parade will be broadcast live on the Internet thanks to the help of group of local volunteers. It is being filmed and live-streamed by the same group that every week videos Bearcats football games. The live videos can be seen online at Bearcat Country.
Last year, Jon Dallons, Dave Lambert and Weiman live-streamed the Pioneer Day Parade from the judge’s stand at 11th and Spring streets. But the streaming didn’t turn out quite the way they expected. Dallons said he showed up early to set up his equipment and check the Internet connection he would get via his Verzion hot spot.
While they had a great location from which to stream the parade, Dallons said that once all the parade viewers showed up using their smartphones, the Internet connection wasn’t very fast. For this year’s parade, to be held on Saturday, Oct. 11 starting at 10 a.m., Dallons and his crew will set up on the roof of a real estate office on Spring Street between 12th and 13th streets.
“It was Jim Weiman’s idea,” Dallons said about live streaming the parade. “I said, ‘Yeah, that would be cool.'”
Last year he said he knew of one senior citizen home that showed the parade in its common room for all the residents who were no longer able to attend the parade in person. For those that miss the parade both in person or online, the video will be archived at www.bearcountry.net. Even those who are in the parade and miss out on being a spectator can watch the parade after the fact.
The first Pioneer Day was held on Oct. 12, 1931.The first event was organized by community volunteers who had generous donations of time, materials and money from individuals, businesses, churches and service organizations. According to the Pioneer Day website, the volunteers’ goal was to provide a day of community friendship and a commemoration of the heritage of the Paso Robles area. There were to be no charges for any of the events, no commercial concessions and lunch would be provided at no cost. This still continues today, though while the downtown businesses closed on Pioneer Day, now businesses are open during and after the event.
The day’s events:
- 7 a.m.: Traditional Bean Feed Preparation in Paso Robles City Park
- 8 a.m.: Children’s Pet Show for those 14 years and under at Paso Robles City Park Gazebo
- 8:30 a.m.: – Little Cowboy/Cowgirl Contest at Paso Robles City Park Gazebo
- 10 a.m.: Pioneer Day Parade starts at 16th and Spring streets and continues around City Park
- Noon: Free bean feed in Paso Robles City Park
- Noon: Carnegie Library and Historical Museum opens in City Park
- Noon: Old Gas Engine Show in Pioneer Park, next to Pioneer Museum
- Noon to 4 p.m.: Additional activities hosted by the city of Paso Robles for its 125th birthday
- 12:30 p.m.: Band concert in Paso Robles City Park
- 1 p.m.: Horseshoe Pitching Contest in Paso Robles City Park
- 2 p.m.: Street Dance with Monte Mills and the Luck Horsehoe Band in Paso Robles City Park
To view this year’s 84th annual Pioneer Day Parade, go to www.bearcatcountry.net. For more information about the parade and the Pioneer Day celebration, go to www.pasoroblespioneerday.org.
