Colusa will have its third Founders Day Festival on Saturday to celebrate the city’s incorporation on June 16, 1868.
The event runs from 9 AM to 2 PM.
This free annual multi-location event for the community is sponsored by the Pioneer Review, the Colusa County Chamber of Commerce, Colusa County Arts Council, the City of Colusa Heritage Preservation Commission, the Colusa Fire Department, the Colusa County Library, and the Rotary Club of Colusa.
The event will run from 9 AM to 2 PM with various activities, including a mini muster and station tour of exhibits at the 750 Market St. fire station, along with a free hot dog lunch at 11:30. Donations for lunch will be accepted for Colusa Firefighters Association programs, such as Santa on Wheels, fire prevention education, and smoke detector program.
A vendor fair will be held in Veterans Memorial Park. The event will feature about 20 product and information booths, organized by Connie Adan and Sherri Garofalo, which is a fundraiser also for CFA’s fire programs.
The hallmark of Founders Day is the guided historic tour. Tour guides Julie and Mike Garafalo will take participants back in time when Colusa’s most notable figures lived on Jay Street, including the city’s first fire chief and first police chief.
“Interestingly enough, we are currently on Fire Chief No. 10, while the Colusa PD is also on their 10th Police Chief,” City Councilwoman Julie Garofalo said. “Since the Colusa Fire Department is 150 years and Colusa Police Department is 101 years, it truly is a testament to all our Chiefs’ years of dedication to serve in such a high capacity.”
The tour, which begins at 10 AM at 9th and Jay Streets, will also include a tour and discussion of several historic fires that occurred in the downtown and Chinatown.
Founders day participants can pick up a brochure at event locations to follow a guide to Colusa’s fabulous downtown structures, inducing Colusa County’s historic courthouse and the former Carnegie Library across the street from the courthouse gazebo, which is home to the Colusa Police Department.
At the gazebo will be the Founders Day entertainers, Fiddlin’ Brothers and childrens entertainer Joe Moye, hosted by the Pioneer Review Community Fund (Founders Day), a non-profit formed under the Community Foundation of Colusa County.
There will be free kids carnival games with prizes. Water, cola, and snacks will also be provided at no cost (donations accepted for next year’s event).
The Art Council gallery will have kids coloring and an information exhibit for the entire duration. The Colusa County Library will open at 10 AM for kids activities, as well.
Founders Day is one of the few morning/early afternoon events held in Colusa, and is intended to be a walking event for people to enjoy Colusa’s historic downtown, shop from local vendors, visit local stores, eat at local restaurants, and learn about local resources.
The festival was established in 2021 after then Colusa Mayor Josh Hill proclaimed the third Saturday in June as Founders Day in Colusa.
The festival is intended to annually honor Colusa’s rich history and energize the community to support local commerce and promote tourism, much as it did in the early 20th century with the Colusa Water Carnival. ■