Here comes the gun: Western Day and its gunfighters return May 7
It may or may not be something like the opening scene of “Gunsmoke,” the famed TV series that aired from 1955 to 1975, when Marshal Matt Dillon faces off with a desperado and sends him to the Dodge City undertaker.
But almost certainly the main attraction for “Western Day at the Adobe,” an open house event May 7 at the historic Peña Adobe in Vacaville, will be performances by the Congressional Gunfighters of American, a professional acting stunt and reenactment troupe that uses period costuming and weaponry, is dedicated to preserving old Western history and specializes in live entertainment.
Prior to the pandemic, they performed at historical “old town” events, train robberies, rodeos, state fairs and specialty events.
Perhaps no surprise, some club members have appeared in films and TV shows, Cricket Kanouff, a spokeswoman for the event sponsor, the Peña Adobe Historical Society, noted in a press statement.
The action and family fun, free and open to the public, begin at 11 a.m. and continue to 2 p.m. in Peña Adobe Regional Park, just off eastbound Interstate 80.
In addition to the gunfighters, music will be provided by the Vacaville Acoustic Jammers, directed by Terry and Leslie Cloper. The Jammers sing and play a variety of instruments, including guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle and harmonica.
The Peña Adobe is the oldest fully restored structure in Solano County. It was built in 1842 by Juan Felipe Peña after he and Juan Manuel Vaca arrived from the New Mexico region. Tours of the Adobe, conducted by fifth-generation Peña family descendants Cecelia Peña and Darlene Stewart, will be available throughout the day.
American Indian park docents Armando Perez and James Tunstall will speak to park visitors about the first people who lived in the area long before the Peñas and Vacas arrived.
The park also is home to the Mowers-Goheen Museum, with its artifacts from the area's settlement, as well as the Willis Linn Jepson Memorial Garden and the Indian Council Ground.
Fun activities for children will include an oldfashioned potato sack race and lessons on how to rope cattle, said Kanouff.
The Peña Adobe Regional Park is in bucolic Lagoon Valley, off Interstate 80, left of the Lagoon Valley Park entrance.
For more information, call 447-0518.
For those interested in local history and interested in tours, volunteering or more information, e-mail penaadobe@gmail.com.