Santa-Cali-Gon begins Friday
By Emily Braton
Special to The Examiner
Posted Aug 25, 2008 @ 10:56 AM
Independence, MO —
The Santa-Cali-Gon Days Festival is quickly approaching. For lifelong Independence residents mentioning the festival brings back fond memories. The first Santa-Cali-Gon Days Festival was held in 1940. The festival was originally designed to celebrate the rich frontier history that Independence possessed. Local men grew beards for the occasion, while women dressed in 1800s clothing. The “Queen City of the Trails” commemorated the Santa Fe, California, and Oregon trails, all of which passed through Independence during the 1800s. A second celebration was held after World War II in 1947. The event would not be held again until 1973. The 1973 festival, called Three Trails Days, was held on the Historic Independence Square, a site chosen to exhibit results of the Square’s Urban Renewal project. The 1973 festival hosted about 50,000 attendees. In 1974 the festival was renamed Santa-Cali-Gon Days, a name originally penned by Velma Katschkowsky in a 1940 contest to name the festival. The 1974 festival was bigger and better than the Three Trails Days, with almost three times as many booth holders and more festivities devoted to the city’s pioneer past.The festival featured a beard and mustache contest, the Miss Independence pageant and a pioneer costume contest. In 35 years the Santa-Cali-Gon Days Festival has evolved into one of the nation’s premier festivals, drawing more than 225,000 people each year.
When the girls were young I would load up the car and take off on Labor Day weekend for Santa Cali Gon Days!!! One time when in a huge crowd, Kelly was about
4 years old we lost her for about 2 minutes and it scarred us silly!!
I haven't been able to go up there for a while, but I have very good memories of our visits!
13 comments:
I took your spelling test and made 90%.
Glad you had fun at your party!!
Happy Belated Birthday!! My oldest daughter turned 24 on the 30th.
I love it when towns have these kind of events but knowing how many people go to them, I can well imagine how terrified you were when you lost Kelly, even for a few minutes!! Happy Labour Day weekend to you and yours, dear Carolyn. xoxo
Sounds like a fun getaway! Hope you are having a nice weekend.
Sometimes we have to hang onto those memories too. ARen't they wonderful to have?
Sounds like so much fun.
Happy Labor Day Grams!
I pray that all is well with you and yours.
Peace & Love to you!
Blessings!
The memories of town celebrations are so fun. I feel sad when I talk to people who never been to any.
Oh to lose a little one in the crowds...yes, that would scare me too.
Hope your holiday weekend was super Grams...and ready yourself for Autumn and enjoy...'cause we all know that comes after that now, don't we?
W I N T E R!! Again.
Grams,
These cultural events are lots of fun.
I lost Michelle once too for about two hours. She went to a friend's place after school and neglected to ask or let me know. I had called the police and she got a good scolding when I finally found her. She was 8. It's terrifying. We also lost Jordan once when he went home with a friend after school without asking. We had the entire community looking for him.
I took your spelling test and commented on that post as well.
Take care, my friend. Hope all is well with you and yours.
Blessings,
Mary
Hello Grams,
I didn't have time to catch up on your posts but wanted to check in with you. I hope you and Nancy are well.
Now I'm off to clean the garage. I'm only in town for one day. I'll have no internet after early morning until next Monday.
Mama Bear
I have never been there but would like to go some year. We use to never miss the Blue Springs Fall Fun Festival or the parade. Our daughter was in the parade and performed on the downtown stage every year with White Oak Dance Academy. I have some very nice memories of those years.
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