It’s that time of the year again. Time for one of Weed’s great celebrations: Carnevale!
“Love Weed... Love Carnevale” is the theme for this year’s event, which stands to be one of the best yet.
Starting with the kick-off parade on Wednesday July 15 on Main St. in Weed at 7 p.m., Carnevale will run for four full days, wrapping up at 4 p.m. on Sunday.
As always, most events occur in Bel Air Park, next to College of the Siskiyous; however, there are some off-site events too, most notably the Mt. Shasta Brewing Company tours, the Weed Museum tour, and the parade that starts it all. (See the schedule on back for a complete listing of all events).
Classic Carnevale
Over the course of the long weekend, there will be fun for the whole family, including the action-packed midway carnival rides, the usual great food and vendor booths, the longstanding bocce ball and softball tournaments and lots of live music to suit all tastes.
“We’ve been trying to take Carnevale to new levels,” explained Ronda Gubetta who, along with Kim Greene, are this year’s parade grand marshals. Together, the two have been instrumental in the planning for this event for the past 12 years.
New this year
New to this year’s event, the parade will now take place on Wednesday night. “It will be much more of a kick-off event than it has been in the past,” explained Weed Chamber volunteer Sheryl Wilson. The parade will follow its regular route down Main street, starting by the post office.
This year, Carnevale will also see a full music program, featuring rock, blues, country, hip-hop and acoustic musicians on the main stage at Bel Air Park. Music coordinator Ryan Marchand reports that the lineup is one of the best yet, with some of the area’s finest bands set to perform.
Weed’s Citizens of the Year will be announced this year during Carnevale, at 7 p.m. on Friday evening, July 17 at Bel Air Park.
As always, there will be a wide array of food and commercial vendors.
Commercial vendors
• Cynthia’s Air Brush Tattoos
• J and R Shirts
• Devil’s Dawn (car decals, purses, novelties)
• ‘We Dyed For You’ (tie-dyed clothing)
• Tribal Connections (imports)
• Airbrush Artwerks (air brushed shirts, k-chains, backpacks, etc.)
• Suzie’s Clothing and Accessories.
Food and Beverage
• Beer: Weed Chamber of Commerce
• Wine coolers and Pepsi products: Weed Rotary
• Smoothies: The Weed High School cheerleaders
• Tri-tip and corn-on-the-cob: Southern Siskiyou Men’s Softball Association
• Funnel cake, super nachos and lemonade: Python Wrestling
• Fried Chicken, potato salad and sun tea: Weed High School Class of 2010.
