Despite 95-degree heat, employees at Hacienda Business Park cheerfully slurped ice cream and ate hot dogs during the recent "Picnic in the Park" festival.

Nearly 1,000 employees strolled through booths contained in the Hacienda Center parking lot containing food, bicycles and accessories, vanpool information, limousine services, sportswear, motorcycle gear and an antique car exhibition in the Hacienda Center parking lot.

Hosted by the Hacienda Business Park Owners Association, business park employers and local merchants, the fair was part of the Park's transportation management program to promote the use of alternative transportation, such as bicycling or carpooling, by employees who work in the Park.

Local restaurants either sold or gave away samples of food during the noontime event. They reported that the crowd consumed 900 hot dogs, 800 slices of pizza, 600 ice cream cones, 600 colas, 540 slices of cake, and 240 bottles of mineral water.

While a live band played, models paraded down an outdoor runway. A fashion show displayed the latest fashions now at Stoneridge Mall and downtown Pleasanton stores.

Throughout the day, more than 60 raffle prizes donated by local merchants were given away.

The Park's new Hacienda Express buses, which many said they rode for the first time that day, transported employees to and from the fair between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

AT&T Communications employee Pam Candy, who used the shuttle bus for the first time to go to the fair, said, "I've been reluctant to try it because I was afraid riding the bus would make me late for work. It is arriving on time today. I'll certainly try it again."

Around noon, a handful of runners assembled for an inaugural race to kick off the opening of the Park's newly-completed "Parcourse" fitness circuit. Runners were required lo predict the time it would take them to complete the 2.3 mile run plus exercises at 18 stations along the path.

Finishing seven minutes before his predicted 33-minutes, Dennis Metaxas of Bissell & Karn Inc. won a $50 gift certificate at Champs Sport Shop in the Stoneridge Mall.

As employees returned to their workplaces following the festival, most said they enjoyed the fair and would like to see another one next year.

To see a reproduction of the original article and edition of Pleasanton Pathways, visit: June 24, 1985