Valley Center Western Days
Valley Center Western Days,[1] is a community involved festival in Valley Center, northern San Diego County, California. The event is produced annually by many local non-profit organizations, and is run by volunteers.
Events
Each year over Memorial Day weekend, the celebration starts Friday night with the Honorary Mayors race and a Friday night Rodeo by the Valley Center Stampede Rodeo. Saturday morning starts off with the Rotary Club of Valley Center pancake breakfast, then the community parade through town. The Valley Center Community Center offers a rodeo, entertainment, vendors, exhibits, and food. For the weeks leading up to the event, local organizations put on western-themed events and fundraisers.
History and traditions
The event known today as Valley Center Western Days has its origin in 1950 when the community staged a County Fair. Here is a chronology of the event and its various names as they appear in the Western Days archive at the Valley Center Historical Society. [2]
1950-1960 Valley Center Country Fair
1961 name change: Western Week
1963-1965 Western Days name is used for some events during Western Week
1966 name change: Western Days Country Festival
1967 name change: Country Fair
1968 name change: Western Days
1970 The first parade was held
1971 First grand marshal
In 1980, the current name of Valley Center Western Days was adopted.
In 2002, the Valley Center Rodeo was added.
In 2012, Days was the main event for the community Sesquicentennial celebration.
In 2016, Valley Center Days name was adopted for parade.