Doug and Kathy Filipponi named Colony Day Royalty; Doug Rice selected as Grand Marshal

ATASCADERO — Colony Days has announced its 2026 Royalty and Grand Marshal, honoring Doug and Kathy Filipponi and Doug Rice for their longtime connections to Atascadero and the community.

Doug and Kathy Filipponi have been named the Colony Day Royalty, while lifelong Atascadero resident Doug Rice will serve as the Colony Days Grand Marshal.

This year’s Colony Days Parade and Annual Community Celebration is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 17. The parade will take place from 10 a.m. to noon in downtown Atascadero, followed by festivities in conjunction with Atascadero Fall Fest. The parade theme is “Wild About Atascadero!”

For more than five decades, Doug and Kathy Filipponi have built their lives around family, agriculture, business and service to the Central Coast community.

Doug was raised on his family’s dairy in South Atascadero and attended local schools, beginning at Santa Rosa Primary School before continuing through the Atascadero Unified School District and graduating from Atascadero High School. After graduating from high school, Doug attended Cal Poly, where he studied agricultural business management and met Kathy, who grew up on a ranch in Northern California and was also attending the university.

The couple has now been married for more than 53 years. Together, they raised two children and are the proud grandparents of four grandchildren.

Doug has received numerous honors for his work in agriculture and the wine industry, including being named California Mid-State Fair Wine Industry Person of the Year and Agriculturalist of the Year. He has served as president of the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance and the Paso Robles Cab Collective, as well as chairman of the Paso Robles Wine Festival.

The Filipponis have also devoted decades to community service. Doug joined the Atascadero Rotary Club in 1984 and served as its president in 1996 and 1997. He was also involved in establishing the Atascadero Greyhound Foundation, now known as LIGHTHOUSE Atascadero.

Together, Doug and Kathy have supported and volunteered with organizations including Lighthouse Atascadero, CASA, the Women’s Shelter, Hospice, CAPSLO, Special Olympics, FFA, and 4-H.

Doug has also served on the AgWest Farm Credit Board of Directors and the Atascadero High School Athletic Foundation. He was named the Atascadero Chamber’s Citizen of the Year and received its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2024.

Now, after a lifetime spent in Atascadero and years of involvement with the annual celebration, Doug Rice has been selected as the 2026 Colony Days Grand Marshal.

Born in 1967, Rice has lived his entire life in Atascadero. His connection to Colony Days began as a student, when he participated in band throughout his K-12 education. From 1980 through 1985, Rice marched in the Atascadero Junior High and High School marching bands during Colony Days parades.

But his involvement with the celebration extended beyond the parade route.

Rice worked alongside his mother, Maggie Vandergon, the founder of the Colony Days Parade, helping with many of the behind-the-scenes efforts that made the annual event possible. Their work included selling Colony Days buttons, preparing for the parade, and announcing the parade alongside Barbie Butz.

Those experiences gave Rice an early appreciation for the volunteers and community members who have worked to preserve the tradition through the years.

Today, Rice continues to live and work in Atascadero as the owner of Rice’s Fresh Water Guide Service.

He and his wife, Lisa, have been married for four years and are currently renovating the original house where Rice grew up. The couple are grandparents to their granddaughter, Sage. Rice’s family also includes his son, Colton, and daughter-in-law, McKenzie.

For Rice, being named Grand Marshal brings his connection to Colony Days full circle.

After once marching in the parade as a young student and later helping his mother behind the scenes, he will now take his place at the front of this year's celebration.

The Colony Days Parade and Annual Community Celebration will be held Saturday, Oct. 17. The event is free and open to the public. The celebration will continue after the parade with the Atascadero Fall Fest Carnival in and around the Sunken Gardens.

For more information on Colony Days, visit colonydays.org

Feature Image: (From left) Doug Rice will serve as Marshal, and Kathy and Doug Filipponi are Colony Day Royalty for the upcoming Colony Days the weekend of Oct. 17. Photo by Rick Evans/ATN