After months of planning, Cayucos is set for a full weekend of 4th of July festivities, including a sand sculpture competition, Front Street Faire, a barbecue and, of course, fireworks!
The parade also draws large crowds. It's a tradition that began about 100 years ago, but what people see in the parade today has definitely changed over the years.
“What we hope the float will look like... it’s the founding fathers and they’re having a BBQ,” said Carol Kramer, owner of the Sea Shanty.
Kramer is also the vice president of the Cayucos Chamber of Commerce. She said that last year, about 30,000 people came into town for the event. They’re expecting around 40,000 this year.
“This brings businesses a lot of people to service. Because we’re a restaurant, of course, we get a lot of that because we’re going to feed the people, but everybody has a good day,” Kramer said.
Every year, the Sea Shanty has a float using a 1981 Suburban with the roof cut off.
“It’s caught on fire twice. W have to carry fire extinguishers now,” said Kreg Kowarsch. “And it does usually break down once or twice, overheats, so we always have a lot of the people on the sidelines or the people watching the parade sometimes pitch in and help us push us down the road sometimes."
But as long as the wheels keep rolling, so will the creative juices.
“Rope that’s going to go around it, giving it that pier kind of aquatic effect if you would, and we’re also going to create a little lean too that is going to have like surfboards and things on it,” Kowarsch said.
Kramer added that some people will start setting their chairs out on Friday. The road closes around 9 a.m. on Saturday but reopens after the parade.
“We recommend trying to carpool so people can not have to worry so much about the cars,” Kramer said.
Festivities kick off at 4 a.m. on Saturday for the sand sculpture contest. More information can be found here.
