Woodlake Lions Club Rodeo

Attendance at this year's Woodlake Lions Club Rodeo, the annual event held on Mother's Day's Day weekend, was one of the best in recent years.

In fact, pholks, according to David Searcy, a veteran Lions Club member and one of several dozen Lions and cohorts who spent hundreds and hundreds of hours putting the whole thing together, the two-day rodeo attendance was around 4,500.

A number of organizations combine forces to put together Woodlake's Western Week, which includes events each day and evening at least a week prior to Mother's Day.

The annual Saturday morning parade and the two-day rodeo are the main attractions, but there are always events bringing pholks out all week for barbeque dinners, soap box car races, pancake breakfasts and other assorted events.

Parade chairman Mike Flores says this year's parade also was one of the biggest in years with 67 entries. Horses, marching bands, floats, comic entries, cars, trucks and other assorted entries seem to always win the cheers, whistles and hollers from all ages. It never fails.

Grabbing a prized spot along the several block parade route down Valencia Street, the community's main thoroughfare, is an event in itself.

The placing of lawn chairs, blankets and umbrellas along the sidewalk, preferably in the shade of a building or tree, starts as early as 7 a.m. about three hours before the parade starts. Of course, there are those who more or less “own” their spot and everyone knows it. That is part of the charm of an event like this. It's a reserved seating process which isn't written anywhere but is understood by anyone who has even been to the Woodlake parade. This same unwritten rule seems to apply to other communities that have annual parade-like events. And, those seats or reserved spots are passed from generation to generation.

The blaring of sirens and flashing lights from the police cars and the fire trucks mark the event and signals everyone to aim their cameras and cell-phones front and center.

The parade also serves as a sort of homecoming event for some pholks who meet one another once a year. And, if they are among those with reserved spots, it makes things a lot easier. There are hugs, embraces, handshakes and kissing all over the place.

It's a good bet anyone watching the parade is either related to or knows someone in the parade. The yelling out of names goes both ways.

Everybody loves a parade, of course, but don't ever confuse one of these local parades with the Rose Parade, Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, the Orange Bowl Parade or one of those Mardi Gras shindigs. Those big events certainly have their own flavor and always will. They just don't have the flavor of the Western Week in Woodlake Parade or any other Valley community event.

And that, pholks, is a good thing.

ANOTHER GOOD THING this past Mother's Day weekend was Major League Baseball's stepping up to the plate once more joining the fight against breast cancer.
Up until 20 or 30 years ago, I would never have thought I would live to see the day America had a black President or a woman running for President or Vice President, General Motors or Chrysler filing for bankruptcy protection or a major league slugger swinging a pink bat. Goes to show ya.

Personally, I like pink and have several sweaters and shirts which often draw nice comments from women and some guys. I'm confident in my masculinity, but the idea of swinging a pink bat probably would have caused some ruckus on the playground or ball field.

Pink ribbons, wristbands and other symbolic garb along with home plates and lineup cards used in Mothers' Day games will be autographed by teams and players and auctioned off with proceeds going to the Breast Cancer Foundation.

As ironic as it might seem, just imagine the grief one of today's stars would get if he refused to use a pink bat.
Goes to show ya.

Miles can be reached at mshuper@valleyvoicenewspaper.com