Deerfield-News. com-Deerfield Beach, Fl-From the Deerfield Beach historical society
-Deerfield Beach’s Biggest Annual Event
This Saturday Deerfield Beach will celebrate a Covid-19 style version of Pioneer Days. It will be a one day event and very limited in scope. It is already sold out. The Deerfield Beach Historical Society will be there, so if you are among the lucky ones to have a ticket, stop by and see us.
What is now Pioneer Days, goes back to 1947. It began as a one-day picnic under the big trees in Pioneer Park. The Deerfield Beach Lions Club was the host back then serving up barbecued chicken, corn on the cob and homemade baked beans. It was held in the spring to celebrate the end of the vegetable growing season and called Cracker Day.
As Deerfield Beach grew in population, the event was expanded to several days in Pioneer Park highlighted by a carnival, a talent show and the Miss Cracker Day contest. Eventually, it outgrew the Lions Club and a group citizens lead by Dave McKay and Pat Miller took up the cause. It was renamed Founders Days because of copyright issues, and it was moved to the beach.
After a dozen years, the population and the event kept growing until they eventually turned it over to The City of Deerfield Beach who renamed it again to Pioneer Days.
