Posted by: John_Hamilton on 09/06/2012 10:03 AM
Updated by: John_Hamilton on 09/06/2012 10:06 AM
Expires: 01/01/2017 12:00 AM
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Angels Camp Centennial Celebrations Set for September 28 & 29
Angels Camp, CA....The main event in the historic Gold Rush town of Angels Camp’s year-long celebration of its 100th anniversary as an incorporated city is set for September 29 when a Street Fair from 11 am to 4 pm will close Main Street (State Highway 49) for the first time in over 50 years. The Street Fair may well be the largest event held on Main Street since the frog jumps were held there in the 1920s and ‘30s. The Street Fair will include Western gun fights, a frog jump, an old-fashioned soap box derby, pony rides, vendors of all descriptions, street performers, lots of food and drink concessions, and a variety of music stretched from the historic downtown to Utica Park....
The weekend will start on Friday evening, September 28, with a Kick-Off Concert of historic American music in Utica Park from 6 to 9 pm, starting with the acoustic trio Faux Renwah, specializing in Old-Time style music with an original twist. The headliner for the evening is Dan Crary & Thunderation. Crary, a legendary steel guitar flat-picker, is a master of the guitar and a pioneer in one of the most intricate, yet powerful, forms of American music. A performer for over 50 years, Crary and his band The Thunderation attract large crowds whenever they perform. Dan Crary can be heard and viewed by clicking HERE.
A variety of local musical talent will also entertain on Saturday on four stages located throughout the historic downtown. On the main stage across from the Calaveras Visitors Center Big Earl and the Cryin’ Shame will play every musical style from jazz to rockabilly and rap. Big Earl will be followed by local band Dyemusica and their unique blend of reggae rock. On the south stage in front of the Utica Hotel will be San Francisco DJ’s and Teddy Randazzo Jr. On the north stage in Utica Park, The Famous Off Brothers will be performing live classic rock throughout the day.
Just off Main Street in the area dubbed ‘The Wine~n~Cigar Lounge’ -- the parking lot behind Sue’s Café, Crusco’s Italian Ristorante and Sidewinder’s fresh Mex restaurant – local band Plan B will perform, while local wineries pour a selection of their finest wines, the restaurants serve out their back doors [* see note at end of release], and professional cigar rollers demonstrate the cigar-rolling process. The activities in this area will continue until 4 pm.
The Street Fair will stretch from Utica Park south to Angels Creek. Special shuttles will run along Main Street between the event and parking lots at Bret Harte High School and the Fair Grounds.
The Calaveras Visitors Center parking lot will be the site for the centennial frog jump arena as well as the old-style Western shoot-outs staged by Sierra Nevada Guns for Hire out of the Jackson area. Next door, a beer garden will fill the side street of Hardscrabble Lane.
At the north end of Utica Park will be an old-fashioned soap box derby, run by the Northern California chapter of All American Soapbox Derby, Inc.
Utica Park will also provide a myriad of family activities including pony rides, face-painting, artists and craft vendors, and beer, wine and food vendors.
The historic Gold Rush town of Angels Camp was founded in 1848 by Henry Angels who set up a trading post to serve as a base camp for the crowds of gold miners who swarmed the area during the Gold Rush. In 1912, town residents, including women voting for the first time, voted to incorporate as a city in order to improve the roads, water supply, sanitation and other services.
Located at the intersection of California highways 4 and 49, its 3-mile long Main Street is a busy section of the north-south Highway 49 and for many years could only be closed for an hour at a time to accommodate local parades. The new Highway 4 Bypass now provides an alternate route for north-south traffic. Angels Camp was made world-famous by author Mark Twain in his tale “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” which was set at the bar of the old Angels Hotel.
Today, Angels Camp is a base camp for outdoor activities and mountain sports with its proximity to the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Yosemite National Park and Lake Tahoe, as well as its many near-by golf courses, caverns, lakes, trails, camping areas, wineries, and lodging and restaurant offerings.
The 2012 Centennial Celebrations are being organized by the Angels Camp Commemorative Committee of the Angels Camp Business Association (ACBA) with the support of the City of Angels government and various sponsors. Angels Camp is busy planning three more years of celebrations: 2013 -- the 165th anniversary of its founding; 2014 – the 165th anniversary of the 1849 Gold Rush; and 2015 – the 150th anniversary of Mark Twain’s visit to Angels Camp.
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