Margaret Contreras
LV Life Editor
The 76th annual Pilgrim Place festival was held Saturday and Sunday at the Pilgrim Place neighborhood in Claremont.
The event, an annual fundraiser for the senior living community, featured booths with food, art, clothing, fair rides and more.
“I graduated from Pomona College in 1977,” said volunteer Debi Kuperberg. “I remember coming here every year with my family.”
Vendors sold such items as antique jewelry and glass dishes. They also sold handmade things such as quilts, dresses for dolls, pillows and hats. There were handmade metal items and paintings from residents. There was a section where furniture was sold, books and they also had a Christmas shop.
In one of the community gardens, Pilgrim Place residents sold vegetables and fruits that were grown in their backyard or in the community garden. House plants were also on sale.
In one of the community halls, crystal jewelry, cups and plates were being sold. There were also fine china settings and tea sets.
Outside the Porter Hall people could find a food court with many different options to buy. They offered food such as hot dogs, hamburgers, veggie chili, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Prices ranged from $4 to $7.
There was a coffee booth outside the makeshift food court. They served hot coffee, donuts, hot or cold cider and hot chocolate. The festival is advertised as an event for all, even families. There were activities for the kids to participate in, such as craft corner, train rides, mini games and face painting. The mini game ranged from hopscotch to bean bag toss.
“When we made the flier we stressed that it was a family event,” resident and retired Methodist pastor Janet Cromwell said.
The festival offered golf cart shuttles for attendees who needed them. Kids were able to ride a small train and big makeshift boat sailing through the festival streets.
There was a section where residential painters and writers could advertise their work and sell them to interested buyers. Some of the authors were setup at a table to sign their work for their fans.
In one of the community parking garages, people sold items from around the world. Art works on scrolls from Asia, copper cups and bowls from Africa and scarves from India.
Some volunteers came from different churches in surrounding communities to help with the festival, such as Joyce Armenta.
“I come from the Unitarian Universalist church,” Armenta said. “The only time we didn’t do the festival was in 2020 during the pandemic.”
The Pilgrim Place was founded by the Congregational Church in 1915, as a place missionaries could come and find housing after coming from the mission field with their families.
Today it is a retirement community for former clergy, and those involved in social justice and religious activity.
For more information, visit pilgrimplace.org.
Margaret Contreras can be reached at margaret.contreras@laverne.edu.
Magaret Contreras is a senior communications major with a concentration in public relations. She is editorial director and LV Life editor of the Campus Times and previously worked as editor-in-chief and a staff writer.
