The History of the Fairfax Festival
By Richard Pedemonte
1912 - 1965 THE EARLY DAYS
Although Fairfax didn’t become an official town until 1931, historical records show some sort of annual celebration starting way back in 1912. Back then it was a July 4th celebration featuring marching bands, military drill teams, games, foot races, and a parade.
According to the Independent Journal in 1950 the celebration attracted 25,000 people “from all over Northern California to Fairfax Park” and was composed of an old fashioned carnival with rides and game booths, side shows, and a beauty contest. The Journal reported “The fond hope of Jack Cady, chairman of the celebrations, is to build the Fairfax Celebrations so it will rival the Salinas Rodeo in public interest. The Salinas show attracts some 250,000 every year.” So if this is indeed true, the celebration in 1950 was larger than today’s festival.
Historical records mention the Native Sons of the Golden West putting on the festival starting in June 1952. Their advertisement in the Marin Independent Journal read “What a Show..and it’s all free!” Highlights included carnival rides and games, comedy skits by Tony Patucci, and an All-Star review. We know the Native Sons ran the festival for many years, but the exact number is unknown.
1966 - 1969 the FIRST FAIRFAX FESTIVAL ERA
In 1966, the first officially named Fairfax Festival was held on the second week of June and lasted until 1969. Not much is known about these early days, but it was the 60’s so it must have been quite a party. So much so that in 1970 the celebration was cancelled due to rowdiness.
According to the Marin IJ, “the Town Council decided it would rather have no festival at all than take a chance on drawing huge crowds such as nearly overwhelmed city facilities in 1969”. We do know there were several music stages with lots of rock and roll and plenty of beer poured by the Native Sons, the Lions Club, and the Festival Committee.
Here are some quotes gleaned from Marin IJ articles in 1969 and 1970:
“A bleak picture of the Fairfax Festival -its attraction to the hippie element, the widespread use of narcotics and alcohol, the possible riots and the cost to the city - emerged last night as the city council evaluated the annual event.
Police Chief James R. Orr warned that if the festival continues there’s going to be big trouble in Fairfax.
A citizen observed “a large number of people smoking pot and girls running around uncovered.”
One letter writer described the crowd as a “most undesirable, unwashed group of narcotic addicts and sex perverts.” Another suggested outlawing stores such as antique shops and health food markets, claiming they “attract the element.”
On the other hand, Garry Graham, proprietor of 19 Broadway night club complained that persons were lumping together things that happen all year in Fairfax and dumping it on the Festival.
Share Your Story
The Fairfax Festival has a long and checkered history! If you have photos, facts, or fun stories to share about the Festival, let us know!
1979 the THE SECOND FAIRFAX FESTIVAL ERA
After a nine year hiatus, the Festival was revived in 1979 with a new committee promising more family friendly elements. It was initially a low-key affair with a tiny budget and a few volunteers led by Marcia Oldham and Carol Sherman, who drummed up help from council members Pete Arrigoni, Leo Cronin, Mike Ghiringhelli, and others.
Marcia became chairperson in 1980 and recalls: “I wanted the Festival to be a party for the whole town, expanded to have happenings in Peri Park and the Pavilion. The Police Chief at the time was dead set against it all. He wanted the parade to start at the movie theatre and only go up the street to the Bank of America.”
Fortunately, the council ruled for a bigger parade from where Good Earth is today all the way to town hall. That was a good thing as the parade was an enormous hit with multiple floats, bands playing from the backs of trucks, neighborhood groups, the hysterically amusing Nave Patrola Italian Army drill team, the Native Sons’ largest in the state California flag, the Marching Garbage Men, and antique cars, and trucks.
After the parade there were pony rides and a dunk tank, a kids’ area, crafts booths, a stage with music, and even square dancing at the Womens’Club. The Boy Scouts sold hot dogs, beer was poured by the fire fighters and Native sons and the police sold bbq oysters on Elsie Lane - same as today.
For several years the festival remained a small, almost informal event shepherded along by civic minded people including town council member SusanBrandborg who was festival chair for many years. She described the festival as “a semi official town celebration” - a description that rings true today.
FAST FORWARD TO THE EARLY 2000’s
The Festival grew while the money did not and burnout set in amongst the committee which also lost several key members. The situation became so desperate the committee considered cutting the event to one day, which would spell certain doom. For many nights over many beers at Ross Valley Brewing (today’s Fairfax Brewing) and Peri’s Bar, a small but dedicated group of local characters sounded the alarm and formed a new committee.
Meetings were held at Rich Pedemonte’s house on Baywood Court. People brought food and beverages to share in accordance with the new committee’s informal vibe. Key members included Rudy Contratti, Peter Alexander, Chris Lang, Steve (Wyro) Wyrostock, Laura Tremaine and Flea Market impresario Eddie Katzman. They were a raucous group and raised a few eyebrows when for the parade grand marshal they nominated the town garbage man, Mike “Rooster” Kenyon who was famous for driving around town in an old beater car with his pet chicken in the passenger seat.
The new energy attracted new members and soon Elon Rosenfeld, Mike McShea, Rosan Donals, and others joined the committee. Denyce Codoni was a tremendous help for many years, quietly recruiting a small army to wrangle the rapidly growing Saturday morning parade. In more recent years the parade was in the capable hands of Carol Buchholtz and her crew.
In 2004 a full blown Ecofest filled the Pavilion with booths supporting sustainable living, food, and music. It was created by a crew led by Jen Jones, Larry and Holly Bragman, and Patty Brecht and helped elevate awareness of enviornmental causes such as the Stopping the Spray anti pesticide movement and GMO Free Marin. It quickly grew in popularity, adding an outdoor music stage and Friday night movie on the ballfield. Ecofest soon expanded to the ball field, transforming it into an interactive space where younger festival - goers could enjoy fun and engaging activities.