This Article Is Brought To You By Valor Alarm and Security
Article and Pictures By Scott Limpus
October 11, 2019
The 13th annual Pine Cone Festival was held on Saturday at Rim Nordic across the highway from Snow Valley. An estimated 2,000 visitors from across the Mountain and down the hill attended the event that had over 100 vendors, booths, and Public Safety static displays.
According to the event’s website, the Pine Cone Festival was a vision of Lake Arrowhead resident Tricia DuFour after the devastating 2003 Old Fire to encourage visitors to return to the Mountain. “The Pine Cone Festival was established to create a special event for the Communities of the San Bernardino Mountains which highlights the mountain environment, highlights the importance of wildfire safety, educates and invites visitors to experience our unique setting year round. Visitors will learn more about the forest and local natural features, and discover how important wildfire prevention is in preserving these wonderful resources. The Festival provides interactive activities for families and opportunities for local craftsmen, artists, retailers and non-profit organizations to participate and benefit financially.”
San Bernardino County Second District Supervisor Janice Rutherford was honored as this year’s Festival VIP, and a surprise guest, CalFire’s mascot, Captain Cal, made his first Southern California appearance. Other highlights of the family-friendly and per-friendly Festival included a photo content, pine cone craft competition, the World’s Largest Pine Cone, Pine Cone Olympics, a 2-mike nature hike, kids outdoor activities, food vendors, and local entertainment. And of course, Local, State, and Federal Fire Agencies had their equipment on display and answered questions about fire safety.
This year’s “Worlds Largest Pine Cone” competition drew many entries in attempt to break the existing records for Coulter pines and Sugar pines. Coulters are measured by weight and Sugar pines are measured by length. The record to beat for Coulter pine is 5lbs, 2.8 oz. The length to beat for Sugar pine is 23-1/4″. Although there were no records broken, this year’s winners shared prizes worth $650. Laura Leslie of Running Springs’ Coulter pine weighed in at a hefty 4 lbs., 14.1 oz., and Victor Mederias (residency unknown) and Rachelle Casner of Running Springs tied with 18” Sugar pines.
Next year’s event will be held on the first Saturday of October. For more information, visit the Pine Cone Festival website: https://www.pineconefestival.org/