BBQ SMOKE, LIVE MUSIC KICKS OFF FIESTA DAYS
The Pub Kats, purveyors of 1970s classic rock, began a version of Jackson Browne's “Take It Easy,” then the band's lead singer shouted to Karen Juilfs, general chair of the 2023 Fiesta Days, and the musicians started to perform The Eagles' rendition of “Peaceful Easy Feeling.”
“It was a request,” a favorite song, said Juilfs, seated on a bench in Andrews Park as the sun began to set Monday, the first of the event's six days, the annual kick-off barbecue under the trees next to the CreekWalk.
By 6 p.m., as smoke filled the air, some 120 takeout barbecue meals had been purchased and more were likely to be sold by 8 p.m., when the grills were to shut
down, she said.
“It's been a tradition for years and years,” Juilfs said of the barbecue but perhaps not for the event's entire 68 years of honoring Vacaville's Hispanic and Western heritage, and it finally resumed last year, as most of America and the world, surviving the pandemic, still breathed with caution but also a little easier.
As previously reported, at the outset of the new year, some panic reportedly set in among event leaders, when they realized the bottom line wasn't panning out, a financial problem that threatened the 2023 celebration.
The organization created a GoFundMe drive to resuscitate Fiesta Days, which culminates on Memorial Day, and the people of Vacaville and elsewhere responded, including some major sponsors. Among them are Pacific ACE Hardware, Iron Steed Harley-Davidson, Maya Supermarket, Lucky supermarket, Can Washers, Vacaville firefighters and Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Solano.
Finally, with some cash
socked away, this year's event got underway, said Juilfs, adding that the outpouring of support led to the 2023 theme: “Committed to our Community — Helping Hands.”
“I'm grateful,” she said. “We reached out for compassion, goodwill, sponsors … and everyone pitched in.”
Held Thursday through Monday, Memorial Day, centered in Andrews Park primarily, in accord with custom and tradition, the celebration's highlight is the roughly two-hour parade Saturday down Merchant Street.
While the event will not have a Grand Marshal this year, it will have 90 entries, from a color guard and mounted horse groups to beauty queens and classic cars to high school band and public safety vehicles, just to name a few.
“There will be more floats than I can count,” said Juilfs.
But this will be her last year at the helm of the nonprofit event.
“30 years … this is my retirement year — two knee replacements and I'm done,” she said, smiling, her granddaugter, Gia Juilfs, 3, by her side. “I'll be around but behind the scenes” next year, a year of transition, she added, for a new generation to take over the citywide event.
“We throw and party and bring people together,” said Juilfs, a 38-year resident of Vacaville serving her eighth year as event chair.
The headline entertainment is promising, she said, and the lineup includes The California Cowboys, performing top country hits; Journey's Edge, a Journey tribute band; Hey Jude, a Beatles tribute band; Great Wide Open, a Tom Petty tribute band; and the Pub Kats — “`70s music and danceable,” said Juilfs.
Just about everything anyone needs to know about Fiesta Days can be found at www.vacavillefiestadays.org, but Juilfs, in a previous interview, briefly summarized the daily action during the interview.
It kicks off from 5 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, in the beer garden. The musical entertainment will be Journey's Edge, which will perform from 6 to 9 .m. on the main stage, next to Ulatis Creek.
Hours for the carnival will be 5 to 9:45 p.m. and feature several popular rides, including The Zipper, The Swing (an aerial swing), Crazy Surf, and The Spinout.
For those with an appetite, Fiesta Days offers nosurprise fare, from barbecue and Mexican food to wet tacos and corn dogs to pretzels and kettle corn, said Juilfs.
Friday, is Country Day, again from 5 to 9 p.m. The California Cowboys will be on the main stage in the evening. The carnival will continue from 5 to 9:45 p.m.
Saturday is Parade Day, sponsored by Griner Heating & Air and Can Washers.
The action begins at 10 a.m., beginning at the US Bank, and continues down the street to South Orchard.
A car show also will be held Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. on East Main Street.
Juilfs called her time with Fiesta Days “the best years of my life. I will miss it.”