Music in the Park Inc. celebrates 21 years

OUR LAGUNA

The chatter of guests at a dinner to celebrate the 21st season of

Laguna’s outdoor concert series was music to the ears of Marilyn and

Les Thomas.

The Thomases, who founded Music in the Park Inc. with Arts

Commissioner Emeritus Doris Shields, hosted the dinner at Tivoli

Terrace for supporters of the nonprofit public/private organization

created to help fund the concerts and increase the number.

“We were just thrilled with everything,” Marilyn Thomas said.

“Everyone seemed to have such a good time. We originally expected

about 50, but we ended up with 70.”

At the dinner, Les Thomas paid tribute to Shields, who started the

concerts and nourished them until she retired from the commission.

“One of the most important things that happened to us in Laguna

Beach is Les and Marilyn Thomas,” Shields said.

The group couldn’t accomplish what it does without volunteers and

the support of the City Council, he said.

Councilwomen Elizabeth Pearson and Cheryl Kinsman attended the

dinner. Kinsman arrived just as the entree was being served -- she

had been at a Greenbelt Authority meeting in Irvine. She managed to

get in a plug for the return of the rocket ship at Bluebird Park,

which had kept many a youngster occupied while parents enjoyed the

concerts.

A fund has been started to pay for a new rocket ship, which was

deleted from the park restoration because of the cost. Kinsman made

the first donation. Contributions can be made to City Treasurer Laura

Parisi, who also attended the dinner. For more information, call

497-0327.

Thomas also gave special recognition to his wife, who runs the

Music in the Park Inc. Scholarship Program. Winners this year were

Matt Anderson, Molly Bowen, Erin Fusco and Nick Kohlschreiber,

students of Laguna Beach High School art teacher Peter Tiner.

“Usually, we present two scholarships, but the art was so

wonderful this year, we decided to give four scholarships,” Marilyn

Thomas said.

Anderson’s piece featured details of the park.

“It even included trash cans, the sound system and the tunnels at

the top of the slides,” Thomas said. “Molly’s piece had musical notes

inside the words Music in the Park, and Nick did the ‘Satchmo.’

“Erin’s was the elegant musical clef with the hibiscus,” she said.

“[City Arts Coordinator] Sian Poeschl is looking into having it made

into T-shirts.”

The winning art is published in the concert programs, distributed

to about 7,000 people a year who attend the 10 summer concerts.

Winners receive a $100 check or sometimes part of the check, with

the rest going toward art supplies or an art activity for the

participating group or class. Certificates of appreciation are

presented at the school to each participating artist.

The scholarship program began six years ago, Thomas said, as a

challenge by Tiner to his students. The high school was also selected

to participate in 2002 and again this year.

In 1997, the contest was a special project at the Laguna Club for

Kids. The two winners were honored at a ceremony in Bluebird Park.

The next year, winners Devon Shaw, Jacob Gildart and Drew Gerhold

shared the scholarship with a field trip to the Getty Museum for the

third-, fourth- and fifth-graders at Annaliese’s School.

In 1998, half of the money went to purchase art supplies for the

fourth- and fifth-grade students at Top of the World Elementary

School. The next year, it was El Morro Elementary School’s turn, with

the scholarships shared by Garrett Kendrick, Jaz Aldatz and Sebastian

Schott and art supplies bought for the second- and third-grade

classes. In 2001, Thurston Middle School awarded the full

scholarships to Will Rigby and Will Rogan. Laguna Beach High School

students Kristen Kress and Jamie Andrews were the winners last year.

The competing youth organizations or schools are rotated to ensure

a wide participation throughout the community, Thomas said.

Suzi Chauvel greeted the guests at the dinner with her 1,000-watt

smile and handed out name tags, which were hardly needed. Everyone

seemed to know one another.

Among the volunteers who attended: former City Councilman Wayne

Peterson and Arts Commissioner Terry Smith, Sheryl and Dean Harbold,

and Monique and Frank Daniel. Frank Daniel has been Jesus in one of

the casts for the Pageant of the Masters for 18 years.

Councilman Wayne Baglin and his wife, Faye, dropped by for the

reception. That was what Kent Russell planned to do, but he ended up

staying for dinner. Festival of Arts Board member Bob Dietrich

batched it -- Linda Dietrich was home nursing a cold.

The guest list also included Community Services Director Pat Barry

and wife Cindy, Troy Poeschl, and Jim Kollenda and Arts Commissioner

Pat Kollenda, who has just returned from a trip to England and Europe

to celebrate the birthday of one of their sons, a resident of London.

And: Planning Commissioner Norm Grossman, Neil Bahn, Sandy St.

John, attorney Larry Nokes, a spokesman for the proposed YMCA

Skateboard Park in Laguna Beach, his wife, Cathy, and Martha Lydick,

president of the Laguna Beach Taxpayers Assn. and the Friends of the

Laguna Beach Library.

Tombstone Shadow opened the 2003 Music in the Park concert season

Sunday at Bluebird Park, playing the music of Creedance Clearwater

Revival and John Fogerty.

The season continues for the next seven weeks at the park. The

performances are from 5 to 7 p.m. A special concert of Afro-Cuban

music and reggae will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. Sept. 14 at Riddle

Field. The season will conclude Sept. 21 at Irvine Bowl Park with a

performance of Brahms and Jimi Hendrix by Elvis Schoenberg’s

Orchestre Surreal featuring Miss Thing.

Concerts are free. Donations are accepted. Baskets are placed at

each entrance to park and are passed during intermission. Checks can

be mailed to Music in the Park, 1332 Baja St., Laguna Beach, CA

92651.

* OUR LAGUNA is a regular feature of the Laguna Beach Coastline

Pilot. Contributions are welcomed. Write to Barbara Diamond, P.O. Box

248, Laguna Beach, 92652, hand-deliver to 384 Forest Ave., Suite 22;

call 494-4321 or fax 494-8979.