Centennial Celebration Committee

 Mission Statement

 To create a celebration of the first 100 years of the City of Patterson’s past, to foster an appreciation of the City’s present,
and to generate enthusiasm for the City’s future.

 Committee Goals

 Create a year-long celebration of the City of Patterson’s Centennial of 2009 highlighted by a variety of events, both sponsored by this committee and in cooperation with events held by other groups in that year. 

 Key events to be family-oriented, and all events / programs / activities will be structured to encourage community-wide involvement, with the goal of fostering an increased sense of community. 

 To create events and activities that will have a
positive and lasting impact on the community in a
variety of ways, both concrete and intangible.

Tentative plans for the
Patterson Centennial Celebration
 

The town of Patterson was founded in September of 1909 when T.W. Patterson, the towns originator,  told W.W. Cox, a tenant farmer,  that he wanted the grain harvested so that he could lay-out a town. 

 

Over the previous years, T.W. Patterson and various members of the Patterson family had looked for ways to increase the value of their inherited land which was only open farm land.  T.W. lead the effort to create a town at the present location in order to serve the farmers who bought their land to the east of the train tracks in the "Patterson Colony."  By September in 1909, T.W.s engineers had planned the town and were ready to start laying out streets. The city was incorporated on December 22, 1919 after the town had enough residents and civic leaders for a successful vote.

Thus Patterson began.  The first major anniversary event celebrating the town’s founding, the Golden Jubilee, was held in September 1959.  The towns civic leaders, with input from W.W. Cox, decided on a September event as being close to the harvest date.   In 1984, the town celebrated the Diamond Jubilee combined with the Apricot Fiesta that year.

Patterson 100

Planning for the 2009 Patterson Centennial celebration, which is well underway, began in the summer of 2007.  At that time, the City Council agreed to call a committee together.  The Chairperson for the Committee is Jenifer West chairman@patterson100.org and she is excited about keeping this committee moving forward. Currently, Claude Delphia has developed this website which will keep people updated about the exciting events being planned for the celebration.  Member Florence Hove coordinated the Centennial Float for this year’s Apricot Fiesta parade, which is pictured above.

Patterson Repertory Theatre’s Fifth Annual Art and Wine Gala on April 18th will feature artists who will be asked to represent Patterson’s Past, Present and Future in their art. Click for info.
 

Apricot Fiesta

May 29-30-31st:  The 39th Annual Patterson Apricot Fiesta officially has been held and it was a wonderful weekend with perfect weather and great attendance.

July 4, 2009

The celebration will continue with a special Fourth of July weekend of events planned to appeal to Patterson area residents and families.  Friday, July 3, 2009 there will be an outdoor dinner-dance in the Downtown North and South Parks. On Saturday, July 4, 2009 there will be an Old Fashioned Family Picnic and Farm Equipment Show.  Local restaurants and organizations, working with this committee, can host the food, beverages and activities that will make this an entertaining and successful event.

The farm equipment of Patterson’s Past, Present and Future will be on display around the downtown circle, giving people the opportunity to more deeply appreciate Patterson’s agricultural importance.

Sub-committee:  the July 4, 2009 weekend will be under the auspices of the Patterson-Westley Chamber of Commerce.

Committee member Colton Dennis has developed and gained approval for a mural to be painted on the south wall of US Bank on the Plaza Circle.  At the top of this site, there is link to an action plan that details the mural project.  Local artists are invited to take the first step in becoming involved in this historic endeavor.

Labor Day History Weekend

Revised 4-03-09

The Centennial celebration will culminate on Labor Day weekend, beginning Friday September 4 through Sunday September 6, 2009. 

The focus of this weekend-long celebration will be Patterson’s history, beginning with opening ceremonies which will include the dedication of a bronze plaque for T.W. Patterson, the towns founder. Plaques in honor of contributions to Patterson will also be given out..

Patterson Repertory Theatre, under the direction of Artistic Director Colton Dennis and writer Tori Scoles, will write and present a performance based on Patterson’s colorful history.

Saturday's events are planned throughout the day.  The Patterson Township Historical Society museum will be open to the public.  There will be tours of businesses, homes, churches and other local areas of interest.

The Patterson Lions Club will put on a tri-tip BBQ starting at 11 a.m to about 4 p.m.

Saturday  will feature multi-year PHS class reunions in the downtown area.  Plans are underway to notify all past class members through 1999 of the reunion plans via mail. P.R.I.D.E. (Patterson Recognizing Individuals Determined to Excel) will be leading the reunion effort. All class representatives are invited to submit class lists to: PTHS, PO Box 15, Patterson, CA 95363, or you mail email them to: contact@patterson-ca.com.  The last such reunion was held in 1984 during the Diamond Jubilee.

After the reunions, the Patterson Soroptimist Club will put on a Wine and Cheese event in the city council chambers to benefit the Centennial.  Details will be announced soon.

Sunday morning, Sacred Heart Catholic Church will serve a breakfast in the North Park.  Details to come.

Patterson churches will be encouraged to have special displays of their histories, past ministers and early congregation members and their families.  Hopefully many will return to their church on Sunday morning to reacquaint themselves with long time friends.

Patterson schools will be encouraged to put on displays about their history and feature tours of their facilities.

There are plans to have special museum displays; PTHS and the Centennial Committee will have wonderful photo displays around the downtown area.  PTHS is also planning on publishing a book about Patterson’s history.

On Sunday afternoon, there will be a birthday cake served in conjunction with the dedication of the time capsule and a closing ceremony.

All events will be filmed and DVD’s will be available for purchase.

There are other events in the planning stages, such as a historical costume contest, beard contest, etc.  Patterson businesses are encouraged to have their employees dress in clothes of one hundred years ago, and to decorate their stores with special displays.

The history of local long-time families may be on display with photos and memorabilia throughout the downtown area.

People playing a part in Patterson’s early history and descendants of the Patterson family will be honored during the festivities.

Late Sunday there will be a formal closing ceremony.

The Labor Day Weekend is being lead by a sub-committee consisting of Ron Swift, Andy Barsamian and chaired by Claude Delphia – 209-892-5037 contact@patterson.org. Other members are those chairing specific weekend events, such as the head of the Reunion Committee.

The centennial’s summer events are under the auspices of the Centennial Committee.

Chairman Jenifer West chairman@patterson100.org.