Every five years, Dolores throws an especially large party, and it’s about to happen again Aug. 7-9.
The 2015 Dolores High School All School Reunion takes place every five years, and it coincides with the annual Dolores Escalante Days and Dolores River Brewery music festival.
Typically, the alumni bash attracts more than 1,000 alumni and their family and friends to Dolores for the weekend, said organizer Santiago Lopez. Pre-registration is on track for that amount this year.
“We have alumni returning from as far away as Australia, the Philippines, Alaska, and everywhere in between, including people still in town,” he said. “Our oldest are from the Class of 1938 and 1939.”
It’s not just for old-timers, said Angela Randall-Salazar of the reunion committee.
“We’re seeing more and more alumni from the 1980s and 1990s,” she said. “It’s a really good time, and you’re missing out if you don’t attend.”
On Friday, Aug. 7, alumni registration and a barbecue will take place at the Dolores Fire House, beginning at 4 p.m. Cost is $16 per person. Vanishing Breed with fellow alumnus Ellis Miller will provide music for entertainment.
On Saturday, Aug. 8, all classes are invited to decorate a car, build a float, make signs and show school spirit for the Escalante Days parade.
From 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., there will be a reunion program in the school gymnasium. Attendees are encouraged to tour the new buildings and find their senior picture still on the walls.
Saturday evening, there will be dance and concert at the Dolores Community Center. Local favorite Ralph Dinosaur and his band will play. Cover is $5. The event will feature a slide show and memory table. Alcohol will be served for ages 21 and older with ID.
“We want to emphasize that all alumni events are open to the community,” Lopez said.
The traditional alumni party was started by Ruby Gonzales and her late husband, Frank, in the 1970s.
“People really appreciate bringing the old local crowd back home,” she said. “It’s a good boost for the economy, filling up hotels and restaurants in Dolores and Cortez.”
For more information or to pre-register, call Santiago at 882-0180.
Also on Aug. 7-8 is the 39th Escalante Days, which now includes a Saturday music festival at the Dolores River Brewery from 2 p.m. to midnight.
“Ten bands, 10 hours, for $10,” said Aaron Lemay of Inner Orbit Sound Systems, the event organizer. “The bands will alternate on two outdoor stages.”
The lineup will be announced soon. Contact Lemay to sponsor the event or for merchandise vending at (920) 539-9998 or at lemayway1@yahoo.com
Alumni can get in for $8, and the top finishers of the Escalante Mountain Bike race will get free tickets to the show.
Events for Escalante Days will go from Aug. 7-8 and include a mountain bike race, parade, street dance, Galloping Goose rides, chain-saw competition, kid bicycle rodeo, watermelon-eating contest, water-balloon toss, arm wrestling, three-legged race and more. Contact the Dolores Chamber of Commerce for more information and vending opportunities at 882-4018.
