Saturday’s 61st Annual Lakeshore Lions Club Redbud Parade & Festival brought Clearlake and the surrounding communities out in droves to see the sights, despite the sweltering heat. Some of the city’s tank-topped denizens looked to snow-cones for solace, while others hopped on the ferris wheel or ducked into vendors’ booths to stay cool.
Dozens of vendors lined Lakeshore Drive, offering something for everyone: an American flag-themed clothing booth, and a group handing out tiny green bibles; State of Jefferson advocates handing out pamphlets across from a man hawking Warriors jerseys, and a barbecue pouring smoke past a beer garden.
Competition was fierce and attendance high at the 51st Annual Clearlake International Worm Races, put on by the Clearlake Chamber of Commerce, which pitted purebred local worms against each other in three divisions of races, organized by the age of competitors.
The “Rock the 60s!” themed parade took a gaggle of floats from Redbud Park to Austin Park. The trophy winners were announced at the Lions Club booth at 3 p.m.: the American Legion won best overall with a float featuring caricatures of the biggest classic rock stars of the 60s, while the Kelseyville Girl Scouts, Community First Credit Union, and the Lower Lake High School cheerleaders were 1st, 2nd and 3rd runners-up, respectively.
The 18th Annual Show ’n Shine at Austin Park displayed cars dating as far back as the 1920s, with Peggy Choate’s 1956 Ford Thunderbird named best-of-show.
At dusk, a brilliant display of fireworks over Clear Lake began, and festival-goers relaxed as the weather started to cool.
Parade Grand Marshal Mike Salter was glad to see that the event could “bring the Clearlake and Lower Lake communities together, to enjoy themselves and to have a good time.”
The Midway of Fun Carnival, which opened June 28, will continue through July 7. For more information, call (707) 994-2178.
