IT’S TIME TO GO NUTS IN RIPON

Carnival, queen crowning, spaghetti dinner opens Almond Blossom Festival

A growing sea of white and pink almond blossoms can mean only one thing — it’s time for Ripon to go nuts while celebrating the valley’s bounty and the joys of small town living.

The 61st annual Ripon Almond Blossom Festival — the first major community festival of 2023 in the Northern San Joaquin Valley — starts its four-day run Thursday.

It features plenty of fun activities including a family-orientated carnival as well as a festival complete with numerous vendors, food options and entertainment.

The setting for the festival is magical given Mistlin Sports Park where it takes place on River Road will be then be surrounded on three sides by blooming orchards.

That is where vendors offering everything from crafts, trinkets, clothing, and food — not to mention just about anything that is edible that can be wedded with almonds — takes place Friday, Feb. 24, from 2 to 8 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 25, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Sunday, Feb. 26 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The carnival opens at Mistlin Sports Park on Thursday, Feb. 23, from 5 to 10 p.m. featuring “Dollar Ride Night.” It continues Friday, Feb. 24, from 4 to 10 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 25, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; and Sunday, Feb. 26 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Thursday, Feb. 20, events include a bake-off from 7 to 10 a.m., the Ripon Lions spaghetti dinner from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m., and the queen coronation at 7 p.m. all at the Ripon Community Center on Fifth Street.

The queen candidates are Ava Brocchini, Kylee Fullmer, Madison Hendley, Anniston Holck, Ava Keast, Payton Miller-Kay, Anika Schooland, Madeline Staley, Madeline Stewart, and Nayeli Zuniga.

The Friday, Feb. 24, activities include a craft and bake sale from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Ripon Senior Center, Community Stage “Teen Night” Live Music at Mistlin Sports Park from 5 to 8 p.m., and the Ripon Quarterback Club Golf Tournament at Copper Valley in

Copperopolis.

Saturday, Feb. 25, starts off with the Grange Pancake Breakfast from 6 to 10 a.m. at the Grange Hall and the American Legion Auxiliary from 7 a.m. to noon at the Legion Hall, fun run starting at 8:30 a.m. at Marvis Stouffer Park, a bake and craft sake from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Ripon Senior Center, a bake sale from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Immanuel Christian Reformed Church from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., the diaper derby at 10 a.m. at the Ripon High North Gym, and the Ripon Quarterback Club Brats & Drinks at the Ripon Community Center from 1 to 7 p.m.

There will also be live music on the Community Stage at Mistlin Sports Park from noon to 8 p.m.

Swiss Club Dance for those 21 years and older starts at 7 p.m. at the Ripon Swiss Club.

The parade starts at 1 p.m. through the downtown district.

On Sunday, Feb. 24, there will also be live music on the Community Stage at Mistlin Sports Park from noon to 5 p.m.

Additional information can be found at riponchamber.org.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@ mantecabulletin.com mantecabulletin.com

By VINCE REMBULAT The Bulletin

Not many organizations can celebrate 100 years of service to a community.

The Ripon Chamber of Commerce has done just that and more.

According to CEO and President Kelly Donohue, her organization accomplishes many things in town, but much of that takes place behind the scenes and may not be immediately obvious.

She noted that the main goal of any chamber is to help to further the interests of small businesses in the area.

The success of the Ripon Chamber of Commerce is “because we stand on the shoulders of those who came before us,” said board President Dr. Debbie Daniels.

In research conducted by local historian John Mangelos, several of those accomplishments can be traced to the 12 dedicated men who affixed their signatures to a document that set into motion the most prolific organization that Ripon has ever known.

On July 24, 1923, Frank C. Jordan, Secretary of State, signed the Ripon Chamber of Commerce Articles of Incorporation.

The chamber, before that, saw its beginning as the Board of Trade and Merchant’s Association, from 1914 to 1915.

It was newspaper publisher C.A. McBrian who was moving the force behind the formation of a chamber, along with fellow community members’ AJ Nourse (owner of Waterworks and the first-ever president of the Chamber), Vigo Meedom (banker), Andrew Douma (local merchant), Harold Davis (hardware store owner), C.B. Tawny (warehouse owner and ice dealer), George Bainbridge (farmer), Bruce DuVall (Ripon Lumber Company owner), Hubert L. Dickey (banker), Art Stuart (traffic officer), Joseph A. Bodeson (farmer), John Williams Garrison (butcher and constable), and Avon Tober Graham (restaurant owner and Ripon’s first chief of police).

One of their earlier works took place in 1931. The Chamber helped fund street signs placed at the Golden State Highway and Main Street. The Meyenberg Milk Plant – encouraged by the Chamber – opened in Ripon and was welcomed by the community.

A year later, the Chamber put

Van Dorst was the 1986 Almond Blossom up two large wooden signs, one of each approach to Ripon. also assisted in the negotiation of industry on the cover and encouraging tourism and business investments.

The Chamber’s welfare committee stepped in to help the economically disadvantaged in 1933 by providing them with money during those tough times.

The Chamber was instrumental in getting six new streetlights installed in town and the hiring of someone to conduct a census.

There are some improvements to the town by the Chamber that remains obvious to this day.

In 1943, a property was purchased from Mrs. Davis to improve the approach to Main Street from Highway 99. The property was then deeded to the county.

The Water District was formed in 1944, the same year that the Chamber was purchased from the Nourse estate. Perhaps the most formidable time for the organization took place on June 4, 1945.

The Chamber drew up the articles of incorporation for the City of Ripon and moved forward in ratifying them.

The official seal of the City of Ripon was made possible a few years later thanks to a contest held by the Chamber.

In 1946, construction of the four-lane Highway 99 beyond the bridge took place. The Chamber, with an eye for modernization, played a role in having the sewer lines placed under the highway. The deed to the property where the current city hall sits was transferred to the City after 24 years of possession by the Chamber.

During the 1950s, the organization set sights on further benefitting the city and shaping the community to what it is today.

Included was the donation of funds to form a Recreation Commission, which procured 365 acres for Caswell Park.

Another move related to that was when the railroad closed the Southern Pacific Depot in 1958.

The Chamber worked to save it by hiring an attorney to fight the decision. The State Department of Budgeting and Planning recognized those rights and had Caswell Memorial State Park designated as part of Ripon.

Businesses such as Hayward Poultry Producers and Simpson Lee Papers moved to Ripon thanks to successful efforts of the Chamber.

Another big moment for the Chamber was the Olympic Torch passing through town on Feb. 8, 1960. The Chamber board had a plaque and the torch holder placed at Community Center Park for all to enjoy.

The inaugural year of the Almond Blossom Festival was 1963.

The Chamber hosted the first Main Street Day in 1986 followed by Taste of Ripon, a wine stroll to showcase local businesses founded in 1996.

The Chamber continues to create and maintain many events in recent years, including a few that have since become part of the tradition.

The Scarecrowfest was established in 2014 – this is a competition among the businesses to decorate and celebrate the fall season.

The Christmas Light Parade made its debut in 2016. This was a collaborative effort between the Chamber, the Ripon Consolidated Fire District, and the Ripon Police Department.

The following year, the first Bites & Beer stroll took place.

The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 was a struggle for everyone.

The City of Ripon along with the Chamber and the community worked in collaboration to secure grants to help the local businesses during these tough times.

The history of the Chamber is a colorful one with more to come. According to Donohue, the board will never forget the fundamental objectives of championing “the economic, civic, and social welfare of our community.”

Quick Almond Facts

 80% of the world’s almonds are grown in California and no other state in the US grows them commercially. The California almond farms span 500 miles of the Central Valley with 6,500 growers — 72% of which are family owned farms. *California is in a major draught and it has affected everyone, especially farmers. The almond board focuses on sustainability and has been working for more than 20 years on research to use water more efficiently.

Innovative irrigation and farming practices over the last two decades have led to a 33% decrease in water use per pound of almonds produced.

 Almond varieties are “self-incompatible” which means that pollen of one variety doesn’t pollinate itself. Each orchard is planted with at least two, usually three different varieties in adjacent rows to allow for cross-pollination. The farmers rely on bees to move the pollen from one variety to the next. If there are no bees, almonds don’t grow so farmers rent honey bees for a portion of the year — about six weeks while the almond trees are in bloom.