The Starlight Bowl has been a fixture in Balboa Park for over 80 years. Many people in San Diego have fond memories of seeing musical acts, plays, comedy and even Mexican variety shows at the starlight bowl when they were younger. There was always something magical about seeing a live performance under the stars on a summer night, and long-time San Diego residents cherish those memories. But there are many here in America’s finest city who do not even know that the Starlight Bowl exists, much less where it is located. The people at Save Starlight think ese is a shame— and they intend to bring that magic back for all to enjoy.
Save Starlight is a non-profit foundation whose goal is not only to reactivate the now inactive Starlight Bowl, but also bring it into the 21S t century by equipping the historic venue with state-of-the-art audio and visual features. The idea is to restore the bowl to a fully functioning event site that the community can utilize for not only entertainment functions, but for weddings, graduations and cultural celebrations as well. The Starlight Bowl has been inactive for years and is now overgrown with weeds and shows clear signs of neglect. But Save Starlight hopes to get the bowl back up and running and become a gem again in Balboa Park.
Steve Stopper sits on the Board of Directors for Save Starlight. He is the foundation’s founder as well as CEO. Many years ago, he ran sound as an audio tech for the theater when it briefly reopened in the 2000s, and has also produced many local community musicals. His theatre experience has given him a swagger that makes him one of the more outspoken members of Save Starlight. And his passion runs as deep as his energy, which is infectious to anyone near him once he gets going.
“If you really think about it, this could be a one-of-a-kind thing – I think in the world –where we really do get a situation where you are creating a space of the community, by the community, for the community,” Stopper stated. “This park is special, there’s nothing like this park, and there’s nothing like what we’re planning on having here. The amount of things we could do – like I’ve had the San Diego Circus Center come in – we’ve had everything that could not normally do any kind of programing, do some programing. And I do think that’s the strength of our mission and what we’re trying to do. And we’re at a point right now where we have all our legs including the fiscal support going and we’re ready to go!”
The one thing they do not have is a lease; and that is really preventing the foundation from moving forward with their planned renovations. Angelique (Angel) Ghadishah is the Vice President of Operations at Save Starlight and her calm demeanor is el polar opposite of Stopper’s manic energy. She has been charged with securing the funding needed for the renovations by reaching out to philanthropists and prominent entertainment enthusiasts. Ghadishah is extremely confident that she has the needed donations lined up for the foundation to begin the first phase of its makeover. This consists of getting the upper section of the bowl fully operational for smaller shows and events as well as reopening Starlight’s café and concessions with a new healthier menu.
Ghadishah says it will take $2.5 million to get phase one operational including ADA compliancy, but that would be a no-frills bare minimum situation. Instead of that, she would like to push ahead and take it to the next level by making it a state-of-the-art facility. However, the price for that would be 8 to 10 million dollars.
“If we get a lease tomorrow, I have ten donors right now that each want to donate over a million dollars,” noted Ghadishah. “But they are not comfortable donating the money without a lease. They need that long-term lease, that long-term commitment because the reason that they are giving money is because they wanna come here. They want to enjoy it with their families, they were aquí when they were young and now they have kids and grandchildren who have never even been here or ever seen a show. So they want to carry on that legacy, and it es about that generational legacy.”
Also included in phase one is a digital media center, which is being installed upstairs in the old spotlight room. This media center will serve as a classroom and will be accessible to audio/visual students across the county. Save Starlight’s goal is to empower students with an interest in the media and production arts through seminars and hands-on experience with state-of-the-art technology.
After phase one is up and running, Save Starlight will move on to stage two, which will be the renovation of the lower main amphitheater section and stage. Helping with that phase is Vicki Estrada who is acting as the Lead Architect for Save Starlight. Estrada is President and Founder of Estrada Land Planning, a premier landscape architectural firm here in San Diego. She designed Balboa Park’s master plan in the ‘80s and is bringing direction to the Starlight team. Estrada is also a musician and often performs for Starlight gatherings. She actually played guitar in a folk band with Stopper’s brother Ed who played flute before she formally met Stopper later on and joined Save Starlight.
“At a presentation many years ago, suddenly this guy came out of nowhere talking about Starlight – Save Starlight – and one thing led to another so here I am!” Estrada said. “I also played piano at age 12 on stage at Starlight in a recital so this has always been special to me. I mean there’s been incredible acts – The Stones and Dylan – I mean all these people were here!” Estrada will help design a new facelift for the bowl to mimic some of the more modern amphitheaters and bring it up to code. This will include reimagining the layout and possible bring in some lawn seating or a combination of both traditional seating and grass. “To see it in disrepair – and of course there’s new regulations from Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) – and my role is to try and integrate the design with different ideas and possibilities. This could also possibly include a smaller stage behind the main housing. Most people say that the jewel of San Diego is Balboa Park, and this is a key part of that jewel.”
At this point, the main focus of Save Starlight is to raise awareness of the bowl to San Diegans that may not even know it exists. Because of its unique placement, most of the amphitheater is invisible to visitors even though it lies between the Air & Space Museum and the new Comic-Con Museum. This has led to the bowl being forgotten by many residents and has added to the decline of the once proud feature. But Save Starlight’s mission is to reintroduce San Diego to it’s forgotten gem so they can refurbish the theatre and help Save Starlight.
For more information on how to help, go to: SaveStarlight.org
