Horsemen (and women) are prominent in the annual ’49er Days parade, at 11 a.m. on Saturday’.
The 78th annual Winthrop ’49er Days celebration, three days of events marking the town’s pioneer heritages, will take place May 12-14.
Most of the usual events will be spread out over the three days, with a few changes from previous years. The street dance on Saturday night will move to the Winthrop Barn, and there will be no mechanical bull ride this year.
Things will kick off as usual with the arrival of the Ride to Rendezvous wagon train in Winthrop at noon on Friday, as participants finish a week of horseback adventure.
Saturday’s events include the annual parade at 11 a.m., preceded by performances by The Vigilantes and the West Coast Country Heat line dancers. The parade will feature appearances by 2023 Grand Marshal and Grand Lady Aaron and Judy Burkhart, as well as junior royalty Queen Rio Bourn Lott and Princess Zoe Kaltenbach.
The parade will be followed by old-fashioned games in front of Sheri’s Sweet Shoppe including egg toss, pie eating, hula hoop, rock-paper-scissors and gummy bear spitting contests. The Shafer Historic Museum will be open all day.
Mack Lloyd Park will host the annual outfitters’ displays and other vendors, the mountain man camp (try your hand at ax-throwing), music by Lauralee Northcott and other members of the Columbia Chapter of the Western Music Association, packing demonstrations, and several food options. The outfitter steak dinner, hosted by the Washington Outfitters and Guides Association, will start off the evening, followed by the barn dance.
There will be a cowboy breakfast in the park on Sunday morning (Mother’s Day), followed by a live auction and packing competition.
For more information, visit https://winthropwashington.com/events/western-heritage.
