Silverado Days Buena Park 2026: Your Guide to the 70th Festival

Silverado Days turns 70 this month. The festival runs October 16 to 18 at William Peak Park, 7225 El Dorado Drive. The Buena Park Noon Lions Club hosts three days of rides, games, food, crafts and contests, and the City of Buena Park bills the weekend as happening in the "Center of the Southland." Admission and parking are free.

Most Buena Park residents know the carnival. Fewer know why the city has an Old West festival in the first place. It started as a sales strategy. In the late 1950s, downtown merchants faced competition from new shopping centers and copied the look of the theme park down the road. Seventy years later, the shopping-center fight is long over, and the cowboy theme those merchants adopted now mostly survives as a charity fundraiser at a city park.

A Name Chosen Because It Sounded Old West

The best short account of the festival's origin comes from Orange County historian Chris Jepsen. In a 2007 reader Q&A on his OC History Roundup blog, someone asked whether Silverado Days had anything to do with Silverado Canyon. His answer:

"It actually has more to do with Knott's Berry Farm. The name 'Silverado' just sounded appropriately Old West-ish."

Jepsen writes that downtown merchants, "threatened by new shopping centers," planned to give downtown an Old West makeover modeled on Knott's Berry Farm. They also renamed their annual "Home Town Days" festival as Silverado Days. The early version had a parade, a barbecue dinner, a square dance and a rodeo, and Jepsen says everyone in town dressed like cowboys for the week. Carnival rides and contests, including horseshoes and hog-calling, were added later.

The dates show how close the festival is to the city's own beginnings. Buena Park incorporated on January 27, 1953. The city called 2016 the festival's 60th year, and this year's event is billed as the 70th annual. Counted year by year, that puts the first Silverado Days only a few years after incorporation. For almost the city's whole history, it has held a festival named after a mining-town fantasy borrowed from its most famous neighbor.

The format has changed over time. A 1999 Los Angeles Times story reported that the Silverado Days parade was coming back after a two-year break. The 2026 schedule lists no parade. The rodeo and square dance are gone too. What's left of the cowboy era is mostly the name, the horseshoe contest and the classic cars.

The Merchants' Promotion Became a Grant Program

The merchants created Silverado Days to bring customers downtown. Today it raises money for local causes. The Noon Lions describe themselves as the group that coordinates and runs the event, and the City of Buena Park co-sponsors it.

The festival's grants page says Silverado Days has awarded more than $1.4 million since 1972. The money has gone to schools, city projects, parks and other service projects. When the city marked the 60th anniversary, it said proceeds from food and raffle-ticket sales go back into the community through charitable organizations. Local businesses still play a part. They can join a Booster Club that helps cover production costs, which means more of each weekend's proceeds go to local charities.

That changes what a funnel cake at Peak Park pays for. In 1957, the Old West costume was meant to fill downtown cash registers. In 2026, the money from a raffle ticket goes into a grant fund that has been paying out for more than fifty years.

Across Beach Boulevard, a Commercial Old West Closes

The same fall the festival turns 70, Buena Park lost one of its best-known Old West dining rooms. Claim Jumper at 7971 Beach Blvd., across the street from Knott's Berry Farm, served its last meal on Monday, September 21. The Orange County Register reported the closure the next day.

Claim Jumper has a long Orange County history. Craig Nickoloff and his father, Carl, founded it in Los Alamitos in 1977, and the chain became known for Gold Rush-era decor and large portions. At its peak, Claim Jumper ran 45 locations in eight states. Its South Coast Plaza restaurant in Costa Mesa is now the chain's last one in Orange County. The Register says there's no word yet on what, if anything, will replace the Buena Park space.

The closure fits the pattern behind Silverado Days. The Gold Rush theme on Beach Boulevard was a business decision, and businesses close. The festival version has lasted because a service club and the city kept running it after the original commercial reason was gone.

Knott's is still the theme's anchor. Knott's Scary Farm runs select nights through October 31, and its 2026 additions include two new mazes, Inked and Unearthed. Knott's Merry Farm opens November 20 and runs through January 3, 2027.

The 70th Weekend at a Glance

Hours and headline events come from the city's September notice and the festival's own schedule.

The stage lineup is mostly local. The youth theater, the middle school drumline, the youth football cheer squad and the Sister City presentation are all Buena Park groups performing for their own neighbors.

What the Early-Bird Wristband Saves

Kastl Amusements runs the carnival ticketing. Rides cost 4 to 8 tickets each, or you can buy an unlimited wristband. Here's how the prices compare:

• Online early-bird wristband: $35 per person for one day, available until 11:59 p.m. on October 15.
• Fees on that early-bird price: TicketLeap lists a $1.70 service fee and says a 3% online transaction fee applies to paid orders.
• Wristband at the gate: $45 per person per day.

Even with both fees, buying online saves about $7 per person for each day, or close to $30 for a household of four that rides on Saturday. The rules are strict, though. Each wristband covers one person for one day's ride session, and you redeem the presale QR code at a carnival ticket box. A family planning to ride on two days needs two wristbands per person.

The city says the VIP Line is back this year, along with advance-sale discounts. The 2026 announcement doesn't explain how the line works. SilveradoDays.com is the place to check before you arrive.

Sunday Morning Belongs to the Classics

The car show is the part of the weekend most like the merchants' original idea of a hometown gathering. The festival schedule calls it Classics on the Green and lists it Sunday, October 18, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Orange County Mustang Club handles registration. Its page lists a $40 entry fee plus a $1 service fee, accepts all makes, and says proceeds benefit VCA Charities. The club's listing starts at 7 a.m., two hours before the festival's posted show time, so owners registering a car should confirm their arrival window with the club.

The Mutt Show starts at 1 p.m., when the festival opens for the day. For anyone who owns a dog or a classic car, Sunday at Peak Park is the closest thing left to the week when the whole town dressed up as cowboys.

The Rest of Buena Park's October

The city's fall calendar has more going on around the festival weekend:

1. Movies Under the Stars, Friday, Oct. 23: Coco at Friendship Park, 5290 Cameron Drive. The event starts at 5 p.m., and the movie starts at 6:30 p.m. The city's fall guide says food trucks will be available.
2. Cops 'N' Goblins, Wednesday, Oct. 28: costume contests, games and trunk-or-treating at City Hall, 6650 Beach Blvd., from 2 to 6 p.m.
3. Veterans Honor Lunch & Resource Fair, Wednesday, Nov. 4: noon at Ehlers Event Center, 8150 Knott Ave. Registration closes October 23, the same day as the movie night.

Silverado Days falls in the middle of that calendar. The Noon Lions and the city have run it for seven decades, and each year's carnival raises money for the next round of local grants.

Silverado Days shows how much of Buena Park's character came from local business owners choosing to invest in where they lived. If you're a long-time owner wondering what your place in this city is worth after years of Silverado weekends, or you're thinking about your next move nearby, BAIKHOME offers bilingual English and Korean guidance from a Buena Park-based team. Get Your Free Home Valuation, and we'll walk you through the numbers clearly.