Woodside’s big May Day party is Saturday

By Kate Daly

Many local residents are getting ready for Woodside’s traditional “May Day” activities, including a pancake breakfast, run, parade and carnival, on Saturday, May 3.

The first scheduled event is the Rotary Club of Woodside/Portola Valley’s annual pancake breakfast from 8 to 10 a.m. at the Woodside Village Church. The charge is $10 for adults and $5 for children 12 and under.

Fun run, walk

Meanwhile right next door at the Woodside Library, participants will be gathering for the 17th annual May Day Fun Run & Walk. Registration starts at 7:30 a.m., with the race set to begin at 8:30 a.m.

The course is about 2.3 miles long and extends from Woodside Road to Albion and Olive Hill roads, and then back. At least a couple of hundred people are expected to turn out, making it necessary to divert traffic along the race route.

Early registration before April 23 is $10 for adults, $8 for children 14 and under, and $30 for a family of four. After that, the price will be $12 for adults and $10 for children. Registration forms are available at www.woodsiderec.com and at Town Hall and Woodside Elementary School. Participants will receive free refreshments and a T-shirt featuring artwork by Woodside School seventh-graders.

Trophies will be awarded to the first male and female finishers, and medals will be presented to the top three finishers in 10 age brackets, ranging from 8 and under to 80-plus.

The event is put on by the Woodside Recreation Committee and sponsored by four local businesses: Buck’s restaurant, W.L. Butler General Contractors, Dave Tanner Construction and Landscaping, and Coldwell Banker.

Parade

The race will be over in time to close the road again for the 86th annual May Day Parade. The procession will start at 10 a.m. from Woodside School, with the school district’s superintendent and principal, Dr. Dan Vinson, leading the way as grand marshal. Over the last few years, he has overseen a major construction project on campus, and is now making plans to retire.

The theme for this year’s parade is Jazz Festival, and the usual assemblage of colorful costumed students and adults, walking, rolling, riding and performing is slated to proceed toward the intersection of Canada Road, and then turn around and retrace its steps back to the school.

As soon as the parade ends, sometime after 11, the school’s third-graders will gather to do the annual May Pole dance in the outdoor amphitheater, weather permitting.

The winner of the Citizen of the Year Award will be announced, and then the school’s barbecue and carnival games will open for business, and stay busy until closing at 3 p.m.