Edhat StaffSource: Los Alamos Valley Men’s Club
The 71st annual Los Alamos Valley Old Days Celebration is Friday, September 22 through Sunday, September 24, 2017, with plenty of fun for all ages in this historic, town founded in 1876. Admission is FREE and the public is invited to join residents and visitors who gather each year to honor, preserve and celebrate the town’s authentic western culture. This year’s theme is “Embracing Our Heritage.”
Los Alamos Valley Old Days is sponsored by the Los Alamos Valley Men’s Club (LAVMC)—a philanthropic 501(C)3 not-for-profit group of men, women and families—dedicated to preserving the town’s unique western character and hospitality. Highlights of the LAVMC Old Days weekend-long celebration include Friday evening’s Chili Kick-off Party & Dance, two-day Peddlers’ Mart & Artisan Faire, Saturday’s Car Show “Deeply Rooted in the Community”; the Saturday evening “Happy Hour & Silent Auction” with more than 100 items and Sunday morning’s “Greatest Little Small Town Parade.”
LAVMC members have selected Los Alamos resident and community volunteer Jim McCullar as the 2017 Los Alamos Valley Old Days Parade Grand Marshal.
Jim McCullar, affectionately known around town as Big Pops, Papa or Jimbo, was born in Upper Lake, California in 1975 and moved to Los Alamos in 1994. Since then, Jim has tirelessly volunteered for LAVMC (serving on many committees including handling road/street closures for Old Days for 23 years), Los Alamos Valley Grange, and helping at practically every community event for more than three decades. He has been seen decorating the town with pumpkins, setting up luminaries, assisting with sandbag placements during the wet months, handling graffiti removal around town and doing maintenance for the LAVMC clubhouse at 429 Leslie Street.
Jim is currently serving his second term as a volunteer LAVMC board member. Jim is employed as a property and maintenance manager by area businessman Dan Thompson. Jim is married to Sylvia Reasner since 2008 and has four children that he adores. “Big Pops” states, “I love the small town camaraderie here in Los Alamos and helping all the kids in the area. None of my success would have been possible without the relationship I had with my late father-in-law, Don Reasner. I dedicate my grand marshal honor to his memory.”
Los Alamos is located at the intersection of US Highway 101 and State Route 135 (Bell Street); just an hour north of Santa Barbara and 20 minutes south of Santa Maria in the heart of Santa Barbara County ranch, farm and wine country.
The Los Alamos Valley Men’s Club (LAVMC), founded in 1946, provides scholarships and funding to local students and organizations, as well as offering its facilities to rent for events and is supported by tax-deductible donations. Sponsorship for 2017 Old Days is provided again by Visit the Santa Ynez Valley
Organizations and individuals interested in participating in the 2017 Car Show as well as the Parade are encouraged to visit the website for applications; and for complete schedule of 2017 Los Alamos Old Days events, see www.LosAlamosValleyOldDays.com.
