The 2022 edition of Escalon’s Park Fete will be the 100th anniversary year, as the first-ever fete was staged in 1922.

Dates for this year’s community celebration are Friday, Aug. 5 and Saturday, Aug. 6 in the city’s Main Street Park, while other events during the week will lead up to the two-day celebration.

Committee member Debbie Murken said planners were to gather for a meeting on Wednesday, July 13 at 6 p.m. at Mountain Mike’s to continue working on the event.

There will be food, games, vendors, carnival rides and plenty of live entertainment at the Park Fete and also, said Murken, there will be a focus on fun things for kids of all ages.

“We’re going to have a watermelon eating contest, we will have Big Wheel races for the littlest kids and the prize is a Big Wheel,” Murken explained.

Races for older kids, utilizing a flat scooter that one participant rides while another pushes, will be offered and there will also be a bucket brigade event hosted by the Escalon Fire Department.

Stick horse races, which have been held in the past, will return and kids can also take part in creating chalk art drawings and enjoy a variety of free activities in the Kids Corral in the center of the park.

Friday, Aug. 5 will feature the seventh annual Cornhole Tournament; contact Jeremy Engle at 209-505-1929 for pre-registration. Fees are $30 per team up to Aug. 4; $40 per team the day of the event.

During the week, Senior Mr. and Mrs. Escalon will be honored at a luncheon at noon on Tuesday, Aug. 2; the Ms. Escalon Pageant is set for 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 3; Little Ms. and Mr. Escalon Pageant takes place on Thursday, Aug. 4 at 7 p.m.

Also, the Park Fete 10k and two-mile runs are scheduled for Saturday morning, Aug. 6 with a horseshoe tournament in the Main Street Pak at 9 a.m.

Booths can open Friday, Aug. 5 at 3 p.m. and again at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 6.

The Park Fete parade is set for 10:30 a.m. on Saturday and live entertainment will be offered throughout the two days, including The Goat Hill Girls and Remedy on Friday with Dennis Parrish, Tony Freitas as Elvis and Gotcha Covered among the performers for Saturday.

“We’re trying to do something special because it is the 100th year,” Murken said. “The history is really interesting, why it started, how much they made.”

The initial Park Fete was hosted in an effort to raise funds to pay for maintenance at the Main Street Park, thus the name “Park Fete.”

Now, going strong for decades, Murken said organizers definitely want to provide a memorable event for 2022. Main sponsor for this year is the Escalon Lions Club and more information is available by contacting Murken at 209-402-0505 or Lions Club member Ed Alves at 209-996-7757.