“A Day in the Old West”
On Saturday, August 19, there will be super-duper End of Summer family-oriented party at Pioneer Museum located at 2010 Riverside Avenue – next to the Event Center. For most families, this is the last free Saturday before school begins and probably Sunday will be spent getting all the last minute “must-dos” taken care of. So, why not kick back and have a fun late afternoon while there is still time left?
It’s amazing that there are still folks here who say, “Geeez, I’ve driven by Pioneer Museum a gazillion times but haven’t stopped to see what’s there.” Waaaay many-more have said, “I hadn’t been in a while and it was soooo great to see all the new displays and remember the Paso-days of yester-yore.”
Museum folks have put together what promises to be memorable day for children of all ages and adults too, whether they are parents or not.
Festivities begin at 3 p.m. to avoid Paso’s late-summer heat and with a ton of yummy food; that even takes care of not having to cook dinner! The Del Gomes trio will be playing hit music from the 50s through current. There’ll also be plenty of Country music to meld in with the Western theme of Pioneer Museum. The band will be playing on the porch of the original one-room Geneseo schoolhouse. There’s a big ol’ shade tree right in front that covers the school’s patio.
Inside the museum itself will be the jaw dropping latest display. The replica of the El Paso de Robles Hotel is FINISHED!! That’s the original name of the hotel before the fire burned it to the ground. After rebuilding it, the name became The Paso Robles Inn. It took two years to build the original hotel and it took a hand-full of volunteers two years to build the replica. This is just not toy sized – it’s 20′ tall and 25′ wide!A video will be playing that shows the history, and there will be a prize to the person who comes closest to guessing the number of bricks on the facade.
You might remember that Pioneer Museum has 6,000 artifacts showing the “physical development” of Paso’s history. Inside and outside, this day will be a super way to catch up on your local history and teach the children what this or that is or was. Maybe they’ll teach you!
From the schoolhouse to the outhouse to the jail, and the memory-maker merry-go-round in the park, the dairy, early office machines, sporting goods shop, military display, old vehicles and all the rest – well, it’s an adventure in time-travel for sure.
Food will be tri-tip, chicken, hot dogs, beans, salad and desert. Shaved ice, watermelon and corn-on-the-cob as well. Both hard and soft beverages including beer and local wines are for purchase.
A pony and tractor will be on site for photo opportunities for the younger children. Games for the family are a must.
Steve Cass, owner of Cass Winery, donated use of his ’47 Chrysler for the drawing prize of the day. For $20 a ticket, take a chance to win a catered lunch at the winery followed by an afternoon of chauffeured wine tasting to local wineries of your choice with three of your friends.
A neat selection of silent auction items that are not run-of-the-mill, will surely make some folks happy when they win.
Here are more of the particulars you’ll be asking about. Tickets: Adults are $50. Tweens and teens 10-18 are $15, 9-under are free. Prices include the meal ticket. To buy tickets call 805-238-6864 or 805-239-4556 for questions or sponsorships. www.PasoRoblesPioneerMuseum.org. Come on down and share the adventure.
