Canyon Country — In what is being described by City Hall as a “bold reimagining of community heritage” and by people who use the riverbed regularly as “a bold reimagining of reality,” the City of Santa Clarita announced this week that it is actively considering returning the beloved Frontier Days celebration to the Santa Clara River riverbed, a venue that last hosted the event sometime in the early 1990s, before the valley filled in all the empty lots and started building storage unit facilities on them.
Frontier Days, for those who moved here after 2003 and haven’t had a neighbor explain it to them at a mailbox yet, began in 1963 as an annual autumn celebration marking the founding of the Canyon Country community. The event included a parade, a rodeo, donkey rides for adults, muddy pig wrestling for children, and a coleslaw recipe so closely guarded by founder Art Evans that it reportedly went to the grave with him rather than be disclosed to the Newhall side of the valley.
“We feel the riverbed offers an authentic frontier atmosphere that no other venue in Santa Clarita can match. Mostly because no other venue has an active encampment, three feral peacocks, and a section the city has been meaning to clean up since 2019.” — Unnamed City Spokesperson, reading from a prepared statement
The event migrated around the valley for decades — from Sierra Highway to Soledad Canyon to Sand Canyon — each time because development consumed the previous empty lot. The riverbed itself hosted at least one iteration before the event finally collapsed in 1996, when it was moved to July 4th weekend, attendance cratered in the heat, and Frontier Days quietly rode off into the sunset like a cowboy with a suspiciously good HOA package waiting for him in Valencia.
City planners held a preliminary meeting Tuesday in which several concerns were raised about the viability of the riverbed as an event space, including drainage, permitting, FEMA floodplain considerations, and one councilmember’s observation that he “definitely saw something moving in there last week that was bigger than a coyote.” The concerns were described as “surmountable” by staff and “extremely mountable” by one enthusiastic Parks Department employee who was later asked to rephrase.
Residents of the adjacent neighborhood expressed measured enthusiasm when contacted by this reporter, with most agreeing that they remembered Frontier Days fondly and would be happy to see it return, provided it did not take place on a weekend when they have a soccer tournament, a Costco run, or had generally been planning to relax. Several expressed confusion about which part of the riverbed, specifically, was being considered, and whether it was the section by the trailhead or the section that smells different.
“I think bringing back the rodeo is a great idea. I am less sure about where they plan to put the horses while the greased pole contest is happening.” — Canyon Country Resident, who wished to remain anonymous in case neighbors disagree
Should the city proceed, planners have indicated the revived event could include a parade down Soledad Canyon Road, a rodeo, live music, local food vendors, and a heritage component honoring the original Frontier Days organizers — an idea that historians cautiously endorsed, provided no one attempts to recreate the “whiskerino” beard-growing contest, which one local historian described as “chaotic even in ideal conditions.”
A public comment period will be held at the next City Council meeting. Attendees are encouraged to bring their concerns, their suggestions, and — if they’re going anywhere near the riverbed beforehand — closed-toe shoes.
Jerome Horwitz is a Santa Clarita native. His family traces their lineage all the way back to the 1960s when his grandparents moved to the area to start a farm in what is now Castaic Lake. Growing turnips proved unfeasible below water, so they got out of farming and started a donut shop specializing in Bear Claws. Jerome enjoys watching paint dry, and lurking in local Facebook groups.
