Description
A RARE FIND 1957 The California Story San Diego's Fiesta Del Pacifico prgram book...in excellent condtion. Features 25 pages of the synopsis, the actors, actresses, names of all people involved in the production pictures & bios , the dancers, the chorale, a note from the govenor, & of the acts of the play... the program originally sold for 50 cents. A must have collectible for anyone who loves the rich cultural & diverse history of California. Fiesta del Pacifico From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The Fiesta del Pacifico (English: Festival of the Pacific) was a civic festival held in San Diego, California during the 1950s. The event was staged throughout the city for several weeks in the mid to late summer. It was intended to attract tourists & to highlight San Diego's Spanish & Mexican heritage History in 1955 the San Diego City Council approved a plan for a month-long celebration to take place in the summer of 1956.[1] A private organization run by Wayne Dailard, who had served as manager of the 1936-37 California Pacific International Exposition, put on a 33-day-long event in 1956, with some financial support from the city & county.[2] The fiesta was intended to be an annual event, but revenue projections fell short, & tourism industry representatives complained that it was drawing traffic away from the more established attractions.[3] The festival continued for three more years but was shorter & less ambitious each year: July 18 to August 12 in 1956, July 24 to August 10 in 1957, August 29 to September 9 in 1958, & September 4 to 17 in 1959.[4][5][6][7] After 1959 the fiesta was abandoned.[1] Description The festival included weeks of varied activities throughout the city, including a beauty pageant, several parades, a series of road races, a rodeo, street parties, & multiple displays of dancing, art, & other cultural activities. The main event was an epic theatrical production entitled The California Story, which had originally been written for the California Centennial celebration in 1950 & had been presented in the Hollywood Bowl. The extravaganza was performed in Balboa Stadium on a stage as long as a city block. It featured 35 scenes & a cast of 1,300 people, including a symphony orchestra & a 150-voice choir.[2] Lucille Norman was the star & lead singer in the 1957 production.[8] It was directed by Vladimir Rosing & conducted by Meredith Willson; both had filled the same role at the Hollywood Bowl.[9][10] The production dramatized the history of California from the arrival of Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo in 1540 through the early 20th century.[1] It was billed as "the biggest non-movie spectacle ever produced anywhere."[5] in 1959, the last year of the fiesta, the California Story production was replaced by a 2-hour show called Stars over Pacific.[7] Legacy The celebration inspired the most popular & most-performed work by composer Roger Nixon: a piece for symphonic band called Fiesta del Pacifico. It was composed in 1958-59 & first
