SMARTSVILLE AND TIMBUCTOO
PIONEER DAY 2012
Come to Smartsville on the last Saturday of April, and experience the best small-town gold rush festival in California.
Now in its 5th year, Pioneer Day honors the early settlers of Smartsville and Timbuctoo, two authentic Yuba County Gold Rush towns with very rich and exciting histories. During Pioneer Day, visitors get a sampling of what it meant to have Gold Fever in Smartsville, California.
As in previous years, the very popular tours of the hydraulic mining areas, local cemeteries, the towns of Smartsville, Timbuctoo, and Sucker Flat, will continue as featured events. Probably the subject of greatest interest is the restoration of the former Catholic Church in Smartsville. Visitors can tour the inside of the church, see our latest restoration efforts, and talk with the men and women that are restoring this historic building.
Plenty of good food prepared by local organizations will be available, and lots of interesting entertainment will be on stage, including music from local bands including the famous Rough and Ready Fruit Jar Pickers, the Worship Band from the Smartsville Community Church, Beau Bevitori and friends from Mooney Flat, and possibly a brass band from Nevada City.
Between band sets we will have historical impersonations. Local actors will be dressed in period clothing to represent prominent characters of the past such as Mark Twain, Lotta Crabtree, Lola Montez, and the very popular Father Twomey. Most will give short stage presentations about his or her life in the Gold Country and will also be available for personal discussions with individual visitors to Smartsville.
Descendents of prominent Smartsville and Timbuctoo residents will again gather at Pioneer Day as a kind of historical reunion. Some of these descendents return to Smartsville every year and often bring relatives from out of state.
There will be children’s activity area at the Smartsville Community Church, old-fashioned races and games sponsored by the Smartsville Firefighters Association, pony rides, and local kids on stage with Plinky & Plunky. We will also have exhibits of blacksmithing and gold panning, and auctions and raffles for great prizes.
Don’t miss this fantastic family-style festival in Smartsville on the last Saturday in April (the 26th) from 9 AM to 4 PM.
For more information please visit PioneerDay.info. The church restoration website is SmartsvilleChurchRestoration.org. Call Kit Burton at (530) 743-0413 or Kathy Smith at (916) 838-2757 for information and answers to specific questions.
