Por Johnny McDonald<\/p>\n
Starlight continues to dim<\/strong><\/p>\n Weather worn and aging, Starlight Bowl\u2019s stage and orchestra pit will likely remain silent during Balboa Park\u2019s yearlong Centennial. No need for those 3,575 seats \u2026 and yet this 80-year old amphitheater is still recognized as part of the park\u2019s legacy. For now, its doors are padlocked.<\/p>\n Mike Ruiz, district manager for Balboa Park 2015,\u00a0said there might be a chance for a single night performance but it would depend on the organizers undergoing a fund raising campaign to restore the theater.<\/p>\n Ruiz said Centennial plans are to conduct free entertainment this summer at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a lot of outstanding talent in the area and we are studying suggested programs,\u201d he explained. \u201cThis includes a number of activities with several\u00a0community groups and we\u2019re in the permit process. It\u2019s a matter of filling out the paperwork. If there is a need to have major shows, we can rely on a ton of local talent.\u201d<\/p>\n The Ford Motor Co. built Starlight Bowl, originally to be known as Ford Bowl, as part of its construction with a round building next door that would feature it\u2019s new model cars at the 1935-1936 Exposition. Unfortunately the Bowl was under the flight path into Lindbergh Field. The round building now is the Air and Space Museum.<\/p>\n As for Starlight it might be remembered for it\u2019s stop-and-go musicals.<\/p>\n A red light would flash in the orchestra pit to stop the music when planes approached. The performers would freeze for 10 to 15 seconds and then resume, hopefully to find the right note again after the pause.<\/p>\n One show patron counted 42 interruptions during a performance of \u201cThe Mikado.\u201d<\/p>\n Through the years there have been other interruptions, four years when the armed services occupied the park during World War II,\u00a0and twice in the 1990s because of finances.\u00a0It closed in 2011 because of bankruptcy.<\/p>\n San Diego Civic Light Opera Association had been one of the oldest continuous musical theater companies in the United States. It was restarted in 1945 by Charles Cannon, William Dean, Julius Leib and Robert J. Sullivan for productions like \u201cThe Chocolate Soldier,\u201d \u201cH.M.S. Pinafore,\u201d \u201cNaughty Marietta,\u201d \u201cThe Barber of Seville\u201d and \u201cHansel and Gretel.\u201d<\/p>\n Hall of Champions awards<\/strong><\/p>\n The Chargers\u2019 outstanding running back LaDainian Tomlinson, baseball standout Chris Chambliss and baseball\/basketball star Tony Clark will be inducted into the Hall of Champions\u2019 Breitbard Hall of Fame\u00a0on Feb. 23 at the Town & Country Hotel Convention Center in Mission Valley.<\/p>\n San Diego State University golfer Gunn Yang, who won the U.S. Amateur Championship, heads a list of amateur stars of the year.<\/p>\n Other Aztec selections were football\u2019s D.J. Pumphrey (school record 1,867 yards rushing), basketball\u2019s Xavier Thames (Mountain West Player of the Year) and two-time NCAA triple jump champion Shanieka Thomas (school record 45 feet, 11 inches); University of San Diego\u2019s basketball player Johnny Dee (who set a school career scoring record in January), golfer Grant Forrest (WCC Player of the Year and St. Andrews Links Trophy winner); UC San Diego swimmer Anji Shakya (NCAA Division II champion in the 500-yard freestyle) and baseball star Troy Cruz (.326 at the plate).<\/p>\n Elsewhere in the park \u2026<\/strong> In March the Museo de Arte de San Diego<\/strong> will\u00a0open \u201cDivine Desire: Printmaking, Mythology, and the Birth of the Baroque,\u201d as part of\u00a0the museum\u2019s permanent collection. It will feature more than 70 engravings produced in Northern Europe and Italy in the late 16th and early 17th centuries … the 40th annual Small Image Show at the Spanish Village Art Center\u2019s<\/strong> Gallery 21 began Jan. 31 and will run until March 1 and is open to all San Diego artists. The purpose is to provide a unique challenge for the artist by utilizing a small image concept in the widest range of visual expression. Artwork must measure no more than 10 inches in any direction including frame, base and display … as part of the Centennial Celebration, the San Diego Auto Museum<\/strong> will feature cars of 1915 and 1935.<\/p>\n