Dating back to the late 1880s, Marin’s fairs, festivals and livestock shows have always been a part of the county’s heritage. The Point Reyes Western Weekend has a long history and is still going strong. Western Weekend was started in 1949 by a women’s group, Companions of the Forest Circle 1018.
They held a festival, fashion show and cake walk in the hall in Point Reyes Station. The following year, members of the Lions Club joined in, adding a parade and a livestock show for 4-H and Future Farmers of America members. For the first three decades, Western Weekend’s proper name was the West Marin Junior Livestock Show.
More recently, it is referred to as the Point Reyes Western Weekend. Regardless, the goals of the two-day event have remained the same – to celebrate the agricultural roots of West Marin and bring the community together. Different organizations, including the Rotary Club and the Lions Club, along with local businesses and volunteers, help support and organize the event.
Doris “Scotty” Mendoza, who was a pillar of the Point Reyes ranching community for almost seven decades, co-founded the Queen Contest and ran it for many years, along with encouraging children to participate in the 4-H Club. Mendoza — known as “Grandma Scotty” to many children — died in 2008 at age 88 in the ranch house she had lived in for 67 years. For decades, the weekend festivities have included a parade, the crowning of the queen, a grand marshal, lip-smacking chicken b.