CAMARILLO : City Birthday Bash Begins Tonight

The city’s annual two-day birthday bash marking its Oct. 22, 1964, incorporation begins tonight.

“It’s the city’s 31st birthday party,” Councilwoman Charlotte Craven said. “It’s the largest multi-day communitywide event Camarillo has.”

Held in September the past four years, the event switches this year back to its traditional October slot in a bid to boost attendance.

The Camarillo Fiesta gets under way with a mayor’s reception at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall, 601 N. Carmen Drive. Representatives from Autlan, Camarillo’s Mexican sister city, will provide the food. The cost is $3.50.

The jamaica-- the name refers to a carnival with food and game booths arranged in a circle common in small Mexican towns--is scheduled from 5 to 9 p.m. at Constitution Park, next to City Hall. There will be more than 50 booths, children’s rides and continuous live entertainment.

Saturday’s activities begin with a Mexican breakfast from 7 to 11 a.m. at Wells Fargo Bank, 425 Arneil Road. Cost is $4; children under 6 eat free.

A 37-entry parade begins at 10 a.m. at Arneil Road and Daily Drive, turns right on Ponderosa Drive and ends at City Hall. The grand marshal is Bob Pena, a city councilman from 1972-76. Once again, people are invited to join the tail end of the procession, Craven said

The jamaica continues from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and includes the cutting of the city’s birthday cake at noon.