The 89th annual Kiddie Kapers Parade, presented by Sakata Seed America, will start at 7pm on Saturday, July 13th winding its way on Main Street from Salinas High School to the Steinbeck Center in Old Town Salinas. Five reviewing stands will offer drill and dance teams, bands and other groups to perform five times along the route as 1,200 children participate in the traditional parade. The theme this year is ‘Every Child is a Rodeo Star’ and the Grand Marshals are Isabella (Bella) Varela and Brayden Gallardo. Bella is a six year old cancer survivor who was honored as the California Rodeo Salinas’ first delegate in the Golden Circle of Champions program last December. Brayden is 11 years old and put in over 400 hours volunteering for the Future Citizens Foundation in 2018.
No pre-registration is necessary to participate in the parade. Check in starts at 5:30pm at the Salinas High School parking lot at 726 S. Main Street. Each parade participant will receive an award ribbon, a crisp dollar bill and valuable coupons from local merchants (MYO Frozen Yogurt, Jack in the Box and Carl’s Jr.) while winners in each category will receive cash prizes. The best dressed cowboy and cowgirl will receive belt buckles sponsored by the Shaffer family. Children can participate by walking in the parade, riding on floats, bikes or wagons and more. Helmets must be worn by all children on bikes or scooters. Community volunteers who wish to help with the parade can email kiddie.kapers@gmail.com to join the fun. Supervision and security will be provided by the Knights of Columbus and Promotoras from the Center for Community Advocacy. Details about the parade along with a map can be found here: https://www.carodeo.com/events/2019/kiddie-kapers-parade
About California Rodeo Salinas
The 109th California Rodeo Salinas will take place July 18th-21st, 2019. The California Rodeo Association is a not-for-profit organization that strives to preserve and promote the traditions of the California Rodeo Salinas and the West. We support the community and other non-profit organizations through the staging of the annual California Rodeo Salinas and other year round operations of the Salinas Sports Complex. Through donation of our facility, vending and fundraising opportunities during Rodeo and other events, the California Rodeo Association returns almost $500,000 annually to local non-profits. For more information about the California Rodeo Salinas, log on to www.CARodeo.com or call the California Rodeo Office at 831-775.3100. ‘Like’ the California Rodeo on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CARodeoSalinas or follow us on twitter @CaliforniaRodeo for updates, photos and more.