Are you looking for unique Father's Day ideas? Bring your Dad to Huck Finn Jubilee, held every June, on Father's Day weekend, in Ontario, California.
What are the 2015 dates for the Huck Finn Jubilee? June 12, 13 and 14.
The Father's Day event celebrates Huck Finn, the most popular character in Mark Twain's book, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
Driving directions to Ontario CA
What is the location of the Huck Finn Jubilee? The event is held in Cucamonga-Guasti Regional Park (address: 800 N. Archibald Ave., Ontario, Southern California).
Located just north of Interstate 10, Cucamonga-Guasti Park is between Haven Ave. and Archibald Ave., less than eight kilometers (five miles) north of LA/Ontario International Airport. Parking is free.
You can also get to the Huck Finn Jubilee on the Ontario Freeway (Interstate 15), which intersects with I-10, and by metrolink train and bus.
Father's Day activities
During the three-day festival, a Huck Finn look-alike contest selects a boy to be Huck. Games include building river rafts, climbing greased poles, egg tosses, whitewashing fences, throwing cow chips, horseshoe-tossing, finding nickels in a haystack and a kids' treasure hunt.
Most contests have no entry fees. Winners receive ribbons, trophies or cash prizes. For contest times and locations, see the schedule on the Huck Finn Jubilee website.
Other Huck Finn Jubilee competitions include a fishing derby, a liar's contest, a frog-jumping contest, the California Open Arm Wrestling Championships, Deering Banjo Championships and a Route 66 Car Show. You can also buy tickets on the Huck Finn Jubilee website for the Wernick Method Jam Class to learn how to play bluegrass.
Father's Day weekend entertainment
A stage performance brings Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to life. Families can also enjoy line-dancing, dulcimer, fiddle, guitar and banjo music on stage and juggling, magic and animal tricks at the Russell Bros. Circus.
Stars, including Ricky Skaggs and Pete Wernick, provide more than 30 hours of country and bluegrass music on the main stage. Adults and kids enjoy guitar, song-writing, mandolin, harmonica, banjo and line-dancing workshops between performances.
Hot air balloon rides
During Father's Day weekend, hot air balloons offer aerial views of the two lakes in the park. Lift-off time for hot air balloon rides is 7 am. Tethered flights are available in the morning and evening.
Cucamonga-Guasti offers fishing, water slides, swimming, picnicking, pedal-boating and aqua-cycling.
Families can eat and shop in food and crafts villages. In the Mountain Man Village, kids learn how to make rope, how to build a fire and how to load a musket. Visitors help a woodsman build a pioneer log cabin on the shores of Horseshoe Lake.
Campgrounds and RV parking
The closest Huck Finn Jubilee camping is at Jammer's Campgrounds (located east of the main show area) and Orange Campgrounds (northeast of the festival grounds). The RV and tent camping entrance is off Hermosa Avenue.
There is also tent parking and camping west of the lake, bordering Archibald Avenue, and tent camping located south of the lake above Inland Empire Boulevard. Camping packages include Huck Finn Jubilee admission fees.
Hotels in Ontario CA
There are several hotels close to Cucamonga-Guasti Regional Park: Aloft Ontario-Rancho Cucamonga (address: 10480 Fourth Street), Ontario Airport Hotel (address: 700 North Haven Avenue), Radisson (address: 2200 E. Holt Blvd.), Quality Inn (address: 514 N. Vineyard Ave.) and Ayres Hotel & Suites (address: 1945 E. Holt Boulevard). Some offer special Father's Day weekend rates for Huck Finn's Jubilee.
The daily admission charge is reduced for children between six and 12. Kids under six have free admission.
For more information:
Huck Finn Jubilee: www.huckfinn.com
