A billboard on Highway 120 as you head into Oakdale from Escalon announces that the Oakdale Tourism and Visitors Bureau is now operating a Visitors Center. It has been a long time coming and OTVB President/CEO Pam Dumas said she couldn’t be happier with the location or the opportunity to showcase everything Oakdale.

The Visitors Center is in the River Road Plaza, 7450 River Road, Suite 6, at the intersection of Highway 120 and River Road.

“We’re very excited,” Dumas said, with the OTVB getting ready for a Grand Opening at the location on Wednesday, March 13 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Current hours for the center are Tuesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Dumas said the inside of the center is shaping up nicely, with an area for brochures featuring where to ‘Eat, Stay and Play’ in and around the Oakdale area. There is also a kids’ play area complete with a dummy steer for roping, a video area that will feature local attractions playing on a loop, a computer area to look up local attractions and more.

One wall features donated historic photos of Oakdale and Dumas said she also wants to help showcase local businesses, with shelving available for displaying some of the items available from shops in town. That could include anything from food products to antiques, with information about the business displaying the item included, directing visitors to the shops in town.

“That’s something for the downtown stores, just to get their products out there,” Dumas said.

The Grand Opening will include refreshments, tours of the new center and, weather permitting, a fire pit outside. Dumas said she is also interested in gaining some volunteers to help staff the center, with the busy summer tourist season fast approaching.

The suite now used by the center was previously used for storage, but Dumas said with help from Grace Heron of Gracefully Styled, the Visitors Center quickly took shape and is ready to provide information and highlight the local area.

“Come see why Oakdale is the Cowboy Capital of the World,” Dumas said in extending the invitation to all to enjoy the Grand Opening celebration.

For more information, go to visitoakdale.com or call (209) 345-9264.