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.
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