City’s Birthday Party : Camarillo Fiesta Celebrates Spirit of the Community

Nguyen Vu, 16, smiled broadly Saturday as he watched high school bands, Clydesdale horses and a float shaped like a giant hot dog go by his front door on Brently Avenue as the 26th annual Camarillo Fiesta kicked off with a parade.

For Vu, a Rio Mesa High School freshman who arrived in the United States from Vietnam five months ago, it was his first American parade, and it was impressive.

“I really like it,” Vu said as a bright red antique car honked on its way past.

Vu joined more than 4,000 residents celebrating the 26th anniversary of Camarillo’s incorporation and the 126th anniversary of the birth of the city’s namesake, Adolfo Camarillo.

“For our parade it’s a big turnout,” said Camarillo Mayor Charlotte Craven. “It’s a citywide birthday party.”

The party began Saturday morning with 5K and 10K runs, a Mexican breakfast and a bicycle rally, in addition to the parade that began at Ponderosa and Arneill roads and ended half a mile away at Community Center Park.

More a celebration of community spirit than a display of pageantry, the parade included Brownie and Girl Scout troops, Ventura County firetrucks, bands from Camarillo and Rio Mesa high schools and the Camarillo White Horses, descendants of prized horses that were once owned by the Adolfo Camarillo family.

Longtime Camarillo resident Dick Vogel and his family viewed the parade from lawn chairs in front of their Brently Avenue house.

“We’ve lived here for 20 years, and this is one of the better ones,” said Vogel, adding that the number of participants has increased as the town has grown. “It helps community spirit a lot.”

At the Community Center, three giant birthday cakes were cut, food was sold and a range of entertainment was presented, including musical groups, carnival rides, an art exhibit and drill teams and gymnasts from local schools.

“I love it,” said 13-year Camarillo resident Jennifer Conn, 41, munching hamburgers on the Community Center lawn with her husband, Bill, 44, and son, Chris, 8. “Some years there are more people in the parade than watching it, but that’s what I love about it. . . . You come and you recognize most of the people. It has a real nice community feeling.”

For the past 10 years, the fiesta has been organized by the Camarillo Fiesta Assn., a nonprofit organization that receives some funding from the city, association President Margie Benchwick said. Booths were rented to independent vendors, and entertainers performed free of charge, she said.

“The crowds are getting bigger as the town has grown,” Benchwick said. “The exciting thing is we still have that hometown flavor.”

The festival continues today, starting at 7 a.m. with a pancake breakfast at the Community Center, 1605 Burnley St. Booths, carnival and an art exhibit will continue from noon to 5 p.m.

“This is my 20th year in Camarillo and it’s by far the best,” said Casey Marmon, who brought her four children. “I had thought about moving to Virginia, but after today, I’m staying here.”