Axes, Parade Floats and Lollipops: Fort Bragg Celebrates Paul Bunyan Days

A small town in Northern California on Monday took a break from everyday obligations — not to mention the turmoil of the larger world — to carry on a tradition that stretches back more than 85 years.

The chief of police directed traffic for the annual Paul Bunyan Day Parade down Main Street in Fort Bragg. The mayor handed out lollipops. Pretty much anyone connected with a local cheer squad or sports team marched or rode in a vehicle decorated for the festivities, while brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews, parents and grandparents, neighbors and friends all cheered them on.

Sophie Vieira, 46, recalled attending the parade with her parents. On Monday, she attended with her son.

“My dad was on the Kangaroo Kort,” she recalled. “I was locked up in the back of a parade truck when I was a kid.”

This time, she enjoyed the spectacle from a comfortable folding chair on the sidewalk. She and her son joked about a dare he had taken on: He climbed onto a fire truck, with the permission of the firefighters, and now, he said, his mom owed him $20.

“It’s just our tradition that this is our community event that we put on for everyone to attend,” Vieira said.

Sean Hathorn, a flamenco guitarist who moved to the area about 15 years ago, said he appreciated the community spirit.

“It’s so charming,” he said. “It’s just so perfectly representative of our town.”

There were cheers when CAL FIRE planes buzzed the parade route in a show of support. There was also dismay that The Marching Lumberjacks, the official student-run marching band of California State Polytechnic University and a parade fixture, did not make it to Fort Bragg this year.

“Everyone was disappointed,” said Mike Stephens, who has donned a plaid shirt and hefted the official Paul Bunyan axe for 17 years.

The parade followed a weekend of festivities that began Friday with a gem and mineral show and a book sale. Saturday brought a pie sale, a trike race, a horseshoe tournament, a classic car show, a kiddie parade, a log-rolling contest, a hot dog-eating contest, an old-fashioned dress review, water fights, an ugly dog contest and the Fireman’s Ball.

Sunday featured the Paul Bunyan Logging Show, complete with axe throwing, hand chopping, power sawing, and more.

The winners were announced late Sunday afternoon.

Axe Throwing

Ladies: Shelly Butterfield, first; Zoey Cardoza, second; and Iona Moyer, third.

Men: Aidan Jack Murphy, first; Wesley Palmer, second; and Joe Goeke, third.

Single Buck

Ladies: Cassandra Renteria, first; and Iona Moyer, second.

Men: Ian Blundell, first; Wesley Palmer, second; and Jesse Baker, third.

Obst Pole

Ladies: Iona Moyer, first; and Cassandra Renteria, second.

Men: Aidan Jack Murphy, first; Austin Nolan, second; and Jesse Baker, third.

Hand Chop

Ladies: Iona Moyer, first; Zoey Cardoza, second; and Cassandra Renteria, third.

Men: Ian Blundell, first; Wesley Palmer, second; and Aidan Jack Murphy, third.

Choker Set

Ladies: Cassandra Renteria, first; and Iona Moyer, second.

Men: Austin Nolan, first; Aidan Jack Murphy, second; and Ian Blundell, third.

Power Saw

Ladies: Zoey Cardoza, first; Iona Moyer, second; and Cassandra Renteria, third.

Men: Ian Blundell, first; Thomas Duffy, second; and Wesley Palmer, third.

Double Buck

Ladies: Iona Moyer and Cassandra Renteria, first; Cassandra Renteria and Zoey Cardoza, second; and Mary Baker and Courtney Baker, third.

Men: Aidan Jack Murphy and Ian Blundell, first; Wesley Palmer and Jesse Baker, second; and Austin Nolan and Thomas Duffy, third.

Jack and Jill

Ian Blundell and Iona Moyer placed first; Wesley Palmer and Cassandra Renteria placed second; and Cassandra Renteria and Thomas Duffy placed third.

Alejandro Yanez, a Fort Bragg native who recently returned to the town, enjoyed the chance to reconnect with old friends.

“I have definitely run into people I haven’t seen in years,” he said.

He said living in more crowded urban areas made him appreciate what Fort Bragg has to offer — the beauty of the redwoods and the warmth of a close-knit community.

“It is really a unique spot in the world,” he said.