Everything just seemed to fall into place.
From the mild late July weather, the thermometer not even reaching 90 degrees, to the crowd-pleasing musical entertainment, the parade, competitions, vendors and more, the 2025 edition of Park Fete is in the books.
“The crowd we had last night was fantastic,” Lions Club member and event coordinator Jeff Miller said on Saturday, July 26. “Some of the vendors sold out and had to re-stock their supply.”
Miller also pointed to the horseshoe tournament coming back, along with the revival of the Park Fete Run adding to the festivities on Saturday. The first-time bicycle races on Main Street for kids in several different age groups on Friday night was a hit, and Miller said the pre-Fete festivities including the Senior Mr. and Mrs. Escalon Luncheon, the Miss Escalon Pageant and the Little Mr. and Miss Escalon Pageant all went off without a hitch.
“Also the cornhole tournament was huge, the poker tournament went well,” he said, with weekend activities nearly non-stop for attendees. You could just come to the city’s Main Street Park and get food, beverages, shop the various vendors and hear some music, all while reconnecting with friends.
Escalon High School alum Dom Chap was enjoying the day, with his three daughters riding the rides in the carnival area; seven-year-old Julianna, five-year-old Amelia and three-year-old Natalia.
There was also a chalk art contest for all ages on Saturday, with Miss Escalon 2025 Gianna Wilson and her court – Ayana Cocio, Jaqueline Aguayo and Carolina Torres – serving as judges.
Musical entertainment featured some returning favorites such as Tony Freitas as Elvis and the Saturday night headliner, Gotcha Covered, while others including Western Bound and No Way Back played to appreciative crowds.
Saturday, after the familiar siren at the Escalon Historical Society Museum rang out, the parade stepped off with the Escalon American Legion leading the way. Grand Marshal this year was Bill Augusto, riding with his wife Roberta, and other notables in the parade included area Congressman Josh Harder, the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Department, some dancing horses, the Modesto Shriners Mini Lizzies, local businesses and more. Food booths scattered around the park offered up wood fired pizza, grilled tri-tip and linguica sandwiches, among other items; there was beer available at the Lions Club Beer Booth and the Escalon Parks Foundation again hosted the Wine Booth, raising funds for the skatepark.
Following the parade, the Legion Post put on a flag folding ceremony in front of the stage, with the Powerhouse Dance studio dancers then taking over the stage for a performance.
“It helps bring everybody together, gets that sense of community that Escalon is known for and which makes Escalon great,” Police Chief Anthony Hardgraves said of the Park Fete festivities, adding that the weather and the good planning by organizers helped make for a good, smooth-running event.
With the Lions Club serving as the sponsoring organization, Miller said they had a lot of help to pull it off.
“Give credit to my committee,” Miller emphasized. “There’s a lot of people doing all these different parts and it all came together.”
