Hold onto your streamer, it’s almost May Day.
The Geyserville Chamber of Commerce is hosting the 42nd annual May Day festival on Sunday, May 5, from noon to 4 p.m. at the Hoffman Picnic Grounds. The event is free to the public.
The staple of the event — which celebrates the onset of spring — is the maypole. Geyserville boasts having one from 1925. Third graders are scheduled to dance around the pole to continue the tradition at 2 p.m.
“I would say a lot of folks consider it a tradition. The setting is lovely and the weather is usually cooperative. Also, the participation of the third graders in the Maypole Dance is a big draw for those families,” said the chamber’s Sharon Pillsbury.
In addition, kids can play in a bounce house, climb the rock wall and have their faces painted. There will also be an egg toss competition. The children’s activities are funded by donations and sponsorships from local businesses.
The crowning of the May Day Queen and her court will be at 1:30 p.m.
Music will be provided by Hillary Marckx and ballet folklorico will be performed by middle school students.
“The Geyserville chamber relishes any chance to support our schools and community,” Pillsbury said. “Sometimes that support is financial and sometimes it is just in bringing everyone together for a good time. This is one of three big events we use to promote our town — the others being the Fall Colors Festival and Vintage Car Show, and the Lighted Tractor Parade. This one has the most community-centric feel, and is touted as a town picnic, with plenty of people coming just to visit with friends and neighbors.”
There will be booths set up that showcase the area’s history and do a little fundraising. Proceeds from the event will go toward local nonprofits.
Slow and Low
The event will also include a rib cook-off. Entries are in and the slabs will start cooking to fall-off-the-bone perfection at 6 a.m.
All ribs come from the Geyserville Market, which are available for participants to pick up on Friday, May 3.
The cook-off is put on by the Kiwanis Club and is coordinated by Bill Green. Pillsbury said the club and chamber have a good, long history.
“We have worked together for years — they are a cosponsor of Geyserville’s Fall Colors Festival, coordinating the Vintage Car Show portion of that event. Their participation with the rib-off is a more recent development,” Pillsbury said. “This is a great addition to the May Day celebration, it not only brings an added food-tasting element, but draws a bigger crowd and adds a bit of friendly competition for participants and the voting public.”
Though the cook-off has only been part of the festival for the last several years, it brings back memories of past celebrations for Pillsbury.
“I remember earlier versions of the festival involved a salad potluck with the Kiwanis doing barbecue,” Pillsbury said. “It was held in the Hoffman Grove (private property) off Canyon Road, and one of the highlights was the Firemen’s Follies with competition between local fire departments featuring a fire hose ‘tug of war,’ which involved moving a ball along a high wire with their fire hoses, and also a soap box derby. Both of these events have been discontinued for safety reasons. The rib contest restores some of that friendly competition of the events held in the ’70s and ’80s to our current May Day celebration.”
