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Calico Ghost Town celebrates its 57^th annual Calico Days event

Yermo, Calif. — San Bernardino County Regional Parks and Calico Ghost Town are excited to celebrate its 57th annual Calico Days event, which will be held Sept. 23-24 at Calico Ghost Town from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The event, focusing on the spirit of the Old West, will feature an 1880s costume contest, gunfighter shows, reenactment skits, pie-eating contest, Miner’s Triathlon competition, Burro Run competition, Bucket Brigade contest, live musical performances and more. The Miner’s Triathlon and Bucket Brigade will be held on Saturday, Sept. 23, and the Burro Run will be held on Sunday, Sept. 24.

The triathlon for men and women competitions include rock pulling, muckraking and tug-of-war events. The burro race is a competition featuring contestants guiding their burro from station to station across town to be the first to reach the finish line. The Bucket Brigade is a race to see whose team can scoop and pass buckets of water to fill up the water barrel first.

Food options during the event include the Calico Restaurant, Lil’s Saloon and food vendors. Attendees can also visit Calico shops and attractions including Maggie Mine, Mystery Shack, Dorsey’s Gourmet Dog House shop and the Odessa Railroad train ride. Calico is pet-friendly and leashed pets are welcome.

This family-friendly event embraces the life and culture of the 1880s when Calico was a bustling silver mining town from 1881 through the late 1890s, when Calico began to see a steady decline in population as silver lost its value and locals fled the town.

At the height of its glory, the town’s population rose to about 1,200 people in 1887, and had about 22 saloons, a schoolhouse, post office, its own version of a China Town, a cemetery and its own newspaper. The town produced about $86 million in silver and about $45 million in borax hauling its product by the infamous 21-Mule Team.

Walter Knott, the founder of Knott's Berry Farm bought and rebuilt the town, and in 1966, donated it to San Bernardino County. Calico Ghost Town, a historical landmark, is managed by the Regional Parks Department. With the support of the Board of Supervisors and the Countywide Vision, San Bernardino County Regional Parks continues to achieve the vision’s goals through the Vision2BActive campaign of promoting recreational activities, services and programs. The 57th annual Calico Days event will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Ticket prices are $10 per adult and $5 for children ages 4-11. Children ages 0-3 are free. For more details and a daily schedule of events, visit parks.sbcounty.gov/calico-days. For prices on all Calico attractions or for ghost tours, visit www.calicoattractions.com. Calico Ghost Town offers full and partial camping at the park. Reservations may be booked directly online at www.sbcountyparks.com. Cabins and bunkhouses are also available. Calico Ghost Town is located off I-15 at Ghost Town Road in Yermo, just 10 miles north of Barstow located at 36600 Ghost Town Road in Yermo.