Ever seen a mayor riding a toilet? SLO County residents share memories from Pinedorado parade

Kathe Tanner
·6 min read
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At every big, successful event, one special sight, sound or experience takes on magic of its own, permanently planting itself in the photo albums of our minds.

Cambria’s annual Pinedorado parade has provided many of those memorable moments.

Held annually during the Labor Day holiday weekend, Pinedorado attracts attendees from all over San Luis Obispo County and California. The Cambria Lions Club has hosted the three-day festival since 1949, with one year off during the COVID-19 pandemic.

One of Pinedorado’s most cherished traditions is the parade, which kicks off Saturday morning and winds down Main Street.

In 1957, crooner and actor Bing Crosby road horseback in the parade along with grand marshal William R. Hearst, Jr., son of the publishing magnate who once called Hearst Castle home.

Through the decades, the parade has included floats, clowns, bands, cars, cheerleaders, athletes, singers and more.

Serenading Slabtown Rollers cyclists capture the attention of Pinedorado parade watchers, and some young participants, during the 2011 parade. The pink tutu has become a local legend for the annual celebration.
Serenading Slabtown Rollers cyclists capture the attention of Pinedorado parade watchers, and some young participants, during the 2011 parade. The pink tutu has become a local legend for the annual celebration.

I’ve seen “people playing kelp instruments, a dog wearing a bonnet, a pastor riding a horse, an honorary mayor riding a toilet, a male bicyclist in a tutu, a Tinkerpaw wearing a barrel (and nothing else!), Lady Ti Di as a butterfly, singer Rudy de la Mor and his feather boa, and an unreliable hillbilly car,” I wrote in 2013. “When it stalled, the hillbilly driver would get out to crank it and his pants would fall down.”

I’ve also spotted flower-hatted gardeners, line dancers in bikini t-shirts, mermaids and scarecrows.

So many good memories, seasoned well with hilarity.

Since 1948, the Pinedorado Parade and Carnival has attracted residents, guests and celebrities. Seen with Bing Crosby in 1957 is Lorraine Gomes, who still resides here.
Since 1948, the Pinedorado Parade and Carnival has attracted residents, guests and celebrities. Seen with Bing Crosby in 1957 is Lorraine Gomes, who still resides here.

Cambria’s Pinedorado parade inspires fond memories

I asked friends about some of their favorite Pinedorado parade moments and entries.

Some North Coast residents said their faves were entries that they, their family members or friends had a hand in creating or presenting.

Christian Evers, firefighter and paramedic with the Cambria Fire Department, cited the 2022 Cambria Skate Park entry, which featured skateboarders expertly gliding on the float’s ramp. That’s not easy to do when it’s on a moving vehicle!

“I knew all the kids on the float,” Evers said. “They wanted me to ride it in uniform with them, but I was on duty that day.”

Other favorite entries included those with kids, dogs, horses, bands, music and old cars.

Jeff Mar played the calliope and his wife Shirley Kirkes-Mar (not pictured) was on drums as the Pinedorado Parade returned to Cambria, Sept. 3, 2022. Mar sang out “Old McDonald had a farm” and the crowd yelled back “E-I-E-I-O!”
Jeff Mar played the calliope and his wife Shirley Kirkes-Mar (not pictured) was on drums as the Pinedorado Parade returned to Cambria, Sept. 3, 2022. Mar sang out “Old McDonald had a farm” and the crowd yelled back “E-I-E-I-O!”

Several people mentioned the various keyboardists who have played the calliope that starts and ends every parade, including Bill Kearns, Kit Hansen, Connie McCauley, Ted Beer, Ron Perry, Dee Batchelor and Jeff Mar, with Polly May as a one-time passenger.

Others recalled seeing a bunch of local dudes dressed in drag as Pinedorado princesses, or riding on a bed-and-breakfast’s pun-inspired float.

Sharon McCartney shared her memory of Gloria Fiscalini riding on her little green tractor to represent the Cambria Garden Club.

“Damn, I have a good time!” Fiscalini responded.

The Cambria Garden Club is always a staple in the Pinedorado Parade in Cambria, held Sept. 3, 2022. Native daughter Gloria Fiscalini wheeled around on her little green tractor, something she’s done in many previous years. She told a friend later, ‘I had SO much fun in that parade.’
The Cambria Garden Club is always a staple in the Pinedorado Parade in Cambria, held Sept. 3, 2022. Native daughter Gloria Fiscalini wheeled around on her little green tractor, something she’s done in many previous years. She told a friend later, ‘I had SO much fun in that parade.’

Karen Soto Snow mentioned three parade entries: a Native Daughters of the Golden West salute to then-new U.S. states Hawaii and Alaska, with costumed riders to match; an homage to various musicians by radio station K-OTR and the Cambria Fishing Club’s drill team.

“With their fishing poles in synchronized rhythm, it was so fun,” she said. “I can only imagine them marching toward their fishing boat in perfect formation.”

“In 1969, I was a bag of French fries on the A&W float in the Pinedorado parade,” recalled Melody Coe, president of the Cambria Historical Society.

As a young teen, Coe worked at A&W in Cambria, “flipping hamburgers for Helen May and Arleta Cochran.” The tiny fast food stand later became funky Calamity Jane’s, which was replaced by a much larger Main Street Grill.

Patty Kemp-Wright mentioned seeing “my husband Scott on the Bluebird Inn float, dressed in lederhosen, playing his penny whistle!”

Pinedorado Parade grand marshal Kathe Tanner, a longtime Cambrian and Tribune reporter, got out of her provided limousine to walk along the route in downtown Cambria in 2018. “Several people have told me today they were glad I got out and walked, because ‘that’s how people see you,’” Tanner said.
Pinedorado Parade grand marshal Kathe Tanner, a longtime Cambrian and Tribune reporter, got out of her provided limousine to walk along the route in downtown Cambria in 2018. “Several people have told me today they were glad I got out and walked, because ‘that’s how people see you,’” Tanner said.

Various people mentioned past Pinedorado parade marshals, including myself.

Geoff West, who divides his time between Cambria and Costa Mesa, recalls seeing me stride up Main Street in 2018 in front of the antique car in which I was supposed to be riding. “You were grand marshal (but) hoofed it most of the parade,” West said.

The entry that got the most mentions in my informal, non-scientific poll was a last-minute entry, described by Doreen Minick as “women in red cars with Kathe Tanner’s Burma Shave signs.”

That night before the parade, we added a sequential series of placards on sticks to be held by passengers in each vehicle.

The sign that accompanied Shirley Bianchi’s yellow Subaru read, “Women in Red Cars … This one isn’t ripe yet.”

For many of us, one of the biggest parade highlights is “not a float, not an entry,” Patrick Wade wrote, but the American Legion Color Guard.

“So many heroes. So much Cambria dynasty,” Wade said.

Young synchronized marchers from the Grizzly Youth Academy have become a well-received hallmark of Cambria’s annual Pinedorado parade, as seen here in 2016.
Young synchronized marchers from the Grizzly Youth Academy have become a well-received hallmark of Cambria’s annual Pinedorado parade, as seen here in 2016.

SLO County students inspire hope

My top Pinedorado parade entries since 1971 include floats for The Cambrian and for the Cambria Historical Society, which my coworkers and fellow board members created and rode on together.

I also remember presentations by the Piedras Blancas Light Station, Friends of the Elephant Seal and North Coast Ocean Rescue Team.

Entries that always make me grateful and hopeful honor and feature young people — from North Coast school bands, sports teams and clubs to the uniformed student cadets from Grizzly Youth Academy in San Luis Obispo.

“I always look forward to the Grizzly Academy kids,” Cambria magician and actor Rick Bruce wrote. “I admire their dedication and commitment to their marching (and more). I truly hope that those kids get everything they need out of that institution.”

The color guard from American Legion Post No. 432 is an annual tribute to veterans during Cambria’s Pinedorado parade on Labor Day Saturdays, as it was here in 2007.
The color guard from American Legion Post No. 432 is an annual tribute to veterans during Cambria’s Pinedorado parade on Labor Day Saturdays, as it was here in 2007.

More about Pinedorado parade and celebration

The 73rd annual Pinedorado celebration officially runs Saturday through Monday.

However, this year’s Pinedorado Follies show, “The Music Man Who Came to Cambria,” plays on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Cambria Veterans Memorial Hall, 1000 Main St. in Cambria.

This year’s Pinedorado parade, which features about 60 entries, starts at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at the corner of Main and Bridge streets in Cambria’s East Village, and progresses up Main Street to the Old Cambria Marketplace and Shell Station in West Village.

New this year, according to parade chairman Greg Aitkens, will be Manuel Enrique and the Famous Dancing Horses and Ballet Folklorico dancers. The latter will also perform Saturday afternoon on the Pinedorado grounds next to the vets hall.

William Randolph Hearst, Jr., was once the grand marshal at the Pinedorado parade in Cambria.
William Randolph Hearst, Jr., was once the grand marshal at the Pinedorado parade in Cambria.

Weather permitting, Aitkens expects vintage military aircraft from Estrella Warbird Museum in Paso Robles to fly over the parade route sometime between 9:45 and 10 a.m.,.

Before Saturday’s parade, attendees can participate in the American Field Service Fun Run and nosh on waffles at the Joslyn Center in Cambria.

After the parade, eventgoers can head to the Pinedorado grounds for barbecue, hamburgers, hot dogs and butter-drenched corn on the cob, plus local wine, beer and tangerine mimosas.

Also in store at the Pinedorado celebration, running 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sunday and Monday, are game booths, a bounce house, kiddie rides, a raffle and live music by acts including the Jill Knight Band.

Nate Fearonce of Cambria, founder of the town’s Pinedorado car show, gets ready to ride in the event’s parade as its 2019 parade marshal. Accompanying him in one of Leland Powel’s antique cars is Andre Fearonce, the marshal’s son.
Nate Fearonce of Cambria, founder of the town’s Pinedorado car show, gets ready to ride in the event’s parade as its 2019 parade marshal. Accompanying him in one of Leland Powel’s antique cars is Andre Fearonce, the marshal’s son.

The 15th annual Pinedorado Car Show will be held 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at the vets hall parking lot. The show, which features collectible cars, trucks and motorcycles, was launched by Nate Fearonce, who’s too ill to lead the effort this year but hopes to attend.

Kudos to the Lions Club for all their hard work to put on this cherished tradition, which this year involved cleaning up flood debris and making repairs after heavy winter storms.

For details on Pinedorado festivities, go to cambrialions.org/pinedorado.

And be sure to enjoy the parade. Those memories last forever.