Children’s Parade to Open Conejo Festivities : Thousand Oaks: Organizers say the emphasis is on making the two-week event accessible to families.

Cowgirls in costumes, elaborate floats and country-Western dancing will mark the opening of the annual Conejo Valley Days festival at the traditional children’s parade Saturday.

About 300 children, all under the age of 14, are expected to march, ride horseback or walk next to floats as they make their way down Auto Mall Drive.

Conejo Valley Days officials said the parade is an ideal event to open this year’s carnival because of an effort to involve children in the events planned for the next two weeks.

“Our emphasis this year has been to make this event accessible to families,” said Jennifer Cummings, organizer of Conejo Valley Days. “We want people to create an event that suits the entire family.”

In recent years, Conejo Valley Days officials said, the combination of a rowdy Western image and the perception that teen-agers dominate the fairgrounds has kept people away.

But festival organizers have vowed to push the 40-year-old event into a new era.

“This event has changed as the community has changed,” said Pete Turpel, Conejo Valley Days general chairman. “It started as a tribute to this area’s Western heritage, and it has grown to mirror the family environment that you find here today.”

Cummings touts this year’s event as the first to include a separate tent filled with crafts and games geared toward children. Yet the event still models itself after the original Conejo Valley Days from the 1940s and ‘50s.

According to a history prepared by the Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce, the two-week extravaganza--including the five-day carnival April 27 to May 1--is based on a community circus that was held in 1947.

That included animal acts, music, dancing and the crowning of a circus queen. The circus has been replaced by a rodeo and other Western-theme events.

“We will be having the rodeo and the chili cook-off and the Western wear just like other years,” Cummings said, noting that the theme of this year’s festival is “Boots, Buckles and Bandannas.”

“We just want to make sure people feel comfortable coming out with their whole family.”

To help accommodate the anticipated turnout of 60,000 to 70,000 people over the five-day carnival, festival officials were able to acquire three extra soccer fields at Conejo Creek Park, at the Moorpark Freeway and Janss Road.

Turpel said planners hope a high turnout will help bring renewed energy to the event and send additional funds into the community. Aside from a portion of the gate, the money raised at the event goes to local service groups and charities, he said.

Last year, the event drew 40,000 people and turned a $20,000 profit. But two years ago, it lost more than $22,000, forcing the city of Thousand Oaks to lend festival organizers the money to pay for security and other expenses.

The committee is expected to repay the loan after this year’s event.

“We’re extremely optimistic that the turnout will be in record numbers this year,” said Steve Rubenstein, president of the Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce. “There’s really a newfound interest in the event.”

For the children planning to march Saturday, preparations are already under way.

“The kids are really looking forward to the parade and all of the activities this year,” said Grace Hollow, who is helping prepare 13 neighborhood children to march as cowpokes this year.

“We all see this as a great time for Thousand Oaks,” Hollow said. “The whole community comes together.”

FYI

The children’s parade will be held Saturday at the Westlake Automotive Center. Lineup for the parade begins at 9 a.m., and the parade begins at 10 a.m. Food and entertainment for children will be offered after the parade. Conejo Valley Days carnival will run from April 27 to May 1. For information, call 378-5596 or 498-8585 to sign up children for the parade.