Origins of the Ranch Festival

At it's peak, Diamond Bar's Ranch Festival brought over 23,000 visitors over three days to the community of country living.

The annual tradition began three years before cityhood, when a Municipal Advisory Committee (MAC) provided community input to Los Angeles County Supervisor Pete Schabarum on land use issues that a city council would otherwise handle.

In 1985, MAC officers were John Bennett, Paul Horcher, Cleve Holified, Lavinia Rowland and Don Stokes.

The Supervisor required the MAC to be an elected body responsible for raising funds to pay for its own operations and the Los Angeles County Registrar Recorder for election expense.

The proposed budget for the Municipal Advisory Committee was total of $4,200 for administration, plus the cost of the five-person board’s election.

A subcommittee provided recommendations on how a governmental body with no authority to tax could support its operations.

It was over the kitchen table of Gary Neely, fundraising co-chairperson with Susan Bill for the MAC, that the idea for the Ranch Festival was born to help generate additional revenue.

At the time, MAC treasurer Lavinia Rowland and her husband John were involved in Rowland Height's Buckboard Days — she suggested a similar event could be successful in Diamond Bar.

The group began brainstorming a name and the specifics of the event, Neely said.

"The night before, David Lettermen had a running joke about when two people got together 'It's a Festival,'" Neely said. "With an event and a name, we needed someone with lots of energy and great organizational skills to lead."

Arriving later in the evening was Donna Thompson. After initial hesitance, the group convinced Donna she would make a first-rate chairperson. To honor the 25 years of the community of Diamond Bar, she agreed.

Pancakes and Parades

That October, the festival began as a one-day event at , with Diamond Bar Plaza across the street allowing parking.

"The key to success of the event was to get everyone's kids involved," Neely said. "every kid in town was involved in any way we could think of to get their parents there."

The MAC presented a live auction, with chances to bid on everything from kids pizza parties at to Sunday Football package for an L.A. Raiders Game and a weekend ski package. There were hourly opportunity drawings from local businesses.

In 1986, the event stretched both Saturday and Sunday. Pomona's Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post 2018, kicked the events off with a pancake breakfast. At 9 a.m., the parade stepped off Montefino Avenue onto Diamond Bar Boulevard.

The Ganesha High School Giants Band joined in with musical accompaniment to the march. Local resident and Firefighter Steve Valenzuela drove a miniature L.A. County Fire Department engine. Convertibles drove local dignitaries, many of whom threw candy to eager children who ran snatched up all they could.

At the festival grounds, many of the parade participants continued to entertain on site. Children's performance groups like The Sunshine Generation and added moving merriment.

In the earliest years, local groups staffed wooden booths for activities such as Cub Scout Pack 703 wet-sponge- throwing booth. Not to be outdone, Pack 737 booth encouraged rivalty with whipped cream pie throwing.

While the adults engaged in educational activities, such as deputies Yvonne Brown and Susan Shoemaker of the Narcotics Prevention STAR (Stop Think and Respond) unit, the grownups were not about to be outdone by the kids in having fun.

The dunking booth became the favorite spot for Diamond Bar adults to let loose their inner child. Civic leaders showed up in a wide array of attire to the dunk tank.

Businessperson Joe McManus modeled swim trunks. Podiatrist Dan Buffington donned a three-piece suit. Walnut Valley School Board member John Forbing came to the festival wearing shorts, unaware that, for his 17th wedding anniversary, his wife Dianne had volunteered him to be drenched.

Chairwoman Donna said at the time: "It is our hope that in the future the revenues from the festival will continue to grow, and not only can the festival help support MAC, but the community organizations and needs as well."

A Three-Day Event

In 1997, unseasonably high triple digit temperatures greeted throngs of visitors to the Festival, which had moved to .

Friday night was added to the schedule to accommodate an itinerary that included additional events such as a carnival, chili cook off and ranch wedding. That year, 23,000 visitors enjoyed the three-day festival, which had become a separate non-profit entity from MAC.

The event outgrew the park. Before it was developed, the land that is now the Gateway Corporate Center — near the and — became the fall event's home.

Controversy Settled

There was controversy in the earliest years on how to divide funds between MAC and the community groups. The divsion ran closely along the lines of those who favored the MAC arrangement to incorporating Diamond Bar as a city.

In 1987, any dispute on revenue sharing between MAC and the community non-profit organizations was settled when Donna Thompson incorporated the event as a standalone non-profit organization, with herself as President.

"It became the largest fundraiser for non-profit organizations in Diamond Bar," Steve Johnson, a former President of the Ranch Festival, said. "The profits belonged to the participants and the Ranch Festival only held back enough dollars to spark the next year's event."