Cayucos, you don’t look a day over 140.
The weekend of Sept. 19, the Cayucos Chamber of Commerce is hosting a three-day celebration of one of San Luis Obispo County’s favorite coastal districts—you heard that right, for three days Cayucos will be hustlin’ and bustlin’ for its big one-five-oh.
Technically, Cayucos has been around since 1867. But according to Chamber of Commerce Director of Public Relations Alicia Van Fleet, it wasn’t really put on the map until 1875 when parcels of land actually started being sold and developed.
Cayucos Historical Center’s website said that the people of the YTT Northern Chumash and Salinan tribes settled in the coastal area long before James Cass, a captain who eventually arrived in the 1860s and took special interest in trading and farming. After that, Cass established Cayucos as a thriving shipping port amid agriculture enterprises like apple orchards and dairy farms.
And, well, the rest is history.
Chamber of Commerce’s Van Fleet said the 150th birthday celebration from Sept. 19 to 21 was sort of a last-minute decision to host. But inspiration sparked when the Lioness Club of Cayucos and the Cayucos Historical Society approached the Chamber to celebrate both their 75th anniversaries.
“So when we started planning this, we’re like what does it look like for us to celebrate something like this?” Van Fleet said. “I guess back in the late 1800s we used to have a day festival called the ‘Butter Festival,’ and Cayucos was a bunch of dairy farmers, and they would bring butter into town. And so we’re like … they would probably have a dance, they’d probably have a street fair of some sort—maybe vendors. So that’s kind of the idea we started with.”
On Friday, the celebration will kick off with a community dance at Borradori Garage overlooking the coastline. Country western band Longstraw will start the evening off, opening for Monte Mills and the Lucky Horseshoe Band. There will also be a mechanical bull.
Unfortunately for those who haven’t got tickets, this event is sold out, Van Fleet said. But there’s plenty of room for anyone on Saturday.
Closing down Ocean Avenue from Cayucos Drive to D Street from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., a street party will host 30 vendors and four bands that open for all ages.
“We’ll have a kid zone with like five to six bounce houses and games, craft tables, a beer and wine garden,” Van Fleet said.
On Sunday the community can celebrate the grand reopening of the Cayucos Landing, formerly known as the Vets Hall.
For the first time, Van Fleet said, the public can take a look inside the refreshed building while enjoying a glass of Champagne. There will be a toast prior to the tour that starts at 11 a.m., but the event itself goes until 1 p.m.
This celebration wouldn’t have been possible without a grant from the Visitors Alliance of Cayucos, Van Fleet said. In total, the weekend-long celebration is costing about $20,000.
“We wanted to have it more family-friendly … have it be an all-day affair where people come, they go to the beach, they shop, they eat local and just enjoy their time here in Cayucos,” she said. “It’s very rewarding to have the community come together and everybody be excited for it.”
Those interested in volunteering for any part of the weekend celebration are welcome to join. For more information, email cayucoschamber@gmail.com.
Fast fact
• The 15th annual Central Coast Railroad Festival will run full steam ahead from Oct. 3 to 5 to celebrate the rich history of trains and tracks on the Central Coast. Several rail-related locations across the region will be open with displays and activities throughout the weekend. The SLO Railroad Museum’s main events, on Saturday only, include vendors and displays, children’s activities, a model railroad for kids to operate, Operation Lifesaver, tintype photos and telegraphy demos, presentations, a G-scale train exhibit, and the museum’s model railroad. The Oceano Depot/Museum will offer tours of various areas on Saturday and Sunday, and the SLO Model Railroad Association will run model railroad layouts at the depot from Friday to Sunday. For more information, visit slorrm.com/ccrrf/schedule.html. ∆
Reach Staff Writer Libbey Hanson at lhanson@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Sept 18-28, 2025.