Old Timers Day Parade at risk of becoming history

One of Madera’s most traditional events, the Madera Old Timer’s Day Parade, may be coming to end. For over eight decades, participants have paraded down Yosemite Avenue, bringing the area alive with thousands of spectators.

The Madera Downtown Association funds the annual Old Timers Day Parade held every year on the last Saturday in September. For more than 10 years, the Madera Kiwanis Club has hosted and organized the parade. Unfortunately, the Madera Kiwanis Club closed their chapter in 2018 and is no longer available to coordinate the event.

For the parade to continue, a local club or organization is needed to take the reins, or else it is at risk of becoming history. If so, it would mark the end of an 87-year old tradition that began during the days of the depression, with the first parade being held on Oct. 31, 1931.

It needs to be noted that each year on the same day, the Madera County Historical Society hosts the Booths In the Park Celebration at Courthouse Park. Even though this is a separate event, the park activities and parade have complimented each other for many years. It is the hope of the Madera Downtown Association that the parade will continue to keep its long-standing tradition in the community.

The Madera Downtown Association covers the cost of the parade and will provide a source of revenue to a non-profit group willing to take on the responsibility of becoming the new event organizers. If there is an organization that is willing to take on the responsibility of organizing the event, a group of previous volunteers are available to pass on their knowledge to help keep the parade moving forward into the future.

If interested in becoming the new organizing host for the parade, contact the Madera Downtown Association at 673-3563 by April 24.