Small Town Fun: Riverdale's Annual Spring Festival and Rodeo

Riverdale...sound familiar? No, we're not THAT Riverdale from the Archie comic books...no Archie, Veronica, Betty or Jughead here. However, tiny Riverdale California is home to an annual two day long event: the Spring Festival and Rodeo. What's better than a parade followed by free ice cream on a warm day? Denial says that it's not going to be a HOT day like it usually is for all the parade participants and sightseers.

Located 40 minutes south of Fresno, California, you'll find Riverdale by turning west from Highway 41. Drive a few miles and you can't miss it...unless you're blinking. Riverdale might be growing, but it's still not even big enough for a stoplight in town. Heck, we just got a stoplight at the highway intersection not long ago. The Rodeo grounds are right on the main road and the parade is held right through the middle of town on the same main road.

School bands from around the Valley participate, as well as other groups. You'll always find riders on horseback; the locally familiar yellow and green trucks from the Maggini Hay Company; and lots of townspeople. You'll see a small trainful of little kids being pulled along by a small locomotive engine; it weaves it's way back and forth down the street with eager little hands waving at the crowd.

As soon as the parade is over, everyone heads over the the park nearby (again, right off the main street) and straight to the ice cream booths. That's the big attraction of the day: local Dairy Association members provide free ice cream cones and ice cream shakes (oh boy...delicious) to anyone who comes up and asks. You can even go back for seconds and thirds. Throughout the day people gather at the park and enjoy the company, the sites, music, and barbeque. Last year there was also a traveling carnival with rides that should be there again this year.

The next day is the annual Riverdale Rodeo that draws participants from all over. It's a day long event of barrel racing, roping, riding and more. At the end of the day the kids get to chase around the farm animals inside the arena and they get to take home what they catch. Did I mention that Riverdale is a farming community? Pretty obvious with that last bit wasn't it?

Overall, it's an event not to miss if you want a glimpse into small town charm and long time traditions.