Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Photograph by George Sakkestad

Face-painting is among Town Picnic activities. Maysa Eissa paints 8-year-old Samantha Mason's face while 3-year-old sister Chloe watches.

Town Picnic brings traditional fun

By Shari Kaplan

Just like the people and the town of Los Gatos--which have undergone many changes in the past several decades--the Los Gatos Lions Club's former Town Barbecue has changed and grown over the years to become the Los Gatos Town Picnic.

The 42nd annual Town Picnic, which takes place Aug. 24 from noon to 7 p.m. at Oak Meadow Park, is a major fundraiser for the Los Gatos Lions Club, which is in its 52nd year of existence. Admission tickets are $12 for adults and $6 for children 12 and younger.

The "picnic" name change came in 1995, when club officers revamped the event to give it a more homestyle image and make it more appealing for everyone in town, especially families looking for a fun activity.

The event has been well-received, according to chairman and Los Gatos resident Tim Musselman, so many aspects of event added over the last two years will remain.

"We're trying not to change the [focus] of the picnic from year to year so people can get accustomed to it as the traditional town picnic," Musselman says. "It's reminiscent of a town picnic in a midwestern town or somewhere like that. We want to give people a feel that this is their picnic, with a small-town feel; that's what makes Los Gatos special."

"It's also an opportunity to meet different folks and let people know we're a service club in the community. Our first effort is to serve people in the community," Musselman adds. The Lions Club motto is, in fact, "We Serve."

One mainstay of the event is the food, some of which is prepared by the Lions themselves. This year the feast consists of barbecued steak and chicken, corn on the cob, grilled vegetables, pasta salad, French bread and ice cream. All are included in the cost of admission; soft drinks and alcoholic beverages are available for an additional charge.

Also included with each admission ticket is a free ride--for the young as well as the young-at-heart--on the Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad, which will wind its way all day through Vasona Lake County Park as well as Oak Meadow. Music throughout the day will be provided by Rick Rinaldi and the Variety Band and Sammy Roye and The Plain James Band.

Musselman says there will be more children's activities this year, such as face-painting, spin art and a lion-shaped Astrojump, as well as carnival-style games such as an egg-roll, fishing pond, beanbag toss, five-pin bowling, flip-a-frog, miniature golf, skeeball and a dart balloon-pop.

Additionally, Musselman says there will be a larger "corporate challenge," which pits teams from local businesses, bars and restaurants--as well as police and fire department personnel--against each other in various sports challenges and relays. For business groups that would like to have their own company picnics at the Town Picnic, the Lions Club has some larger reserved areas available.

The A.J. Robinson mobile health screening unit, run by the Lions Clubs of Santa Clara County and staffed by volunteer doctors and other healthcare workers, will be at the picnic to provide free vision, hearing, blood pressure and diabetes screenings.

The name Lions is an acronym that stands for "Liberty, Intelligence, Our Nation's Safety."

Town Picnic tickets may be obtained from any Lions Club member, by calling the club recorder at 356-1266, or from Tim Musselman at 356-9938.

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