Exploring Balboa Park | What’s on track for the Centennial – Part II

Editor’s Note: This is the second of a two-part Q & A. Look for Part I in the Vol. 15, Issue 1 edition of Downtown News.

Twelve months lay ahead to prepare a calendar of events for the 2015 Centennial celebration in beautiful Balboa Park, San Diego’s Crown Jewel.

We recently asked Gerry Braun, communications director of Balboa Park Celebration, Inc. (BPCI), the nonprofit organizing the event, for an update.

Johnny McDonald/SDCNN: Attention will be directed toward the museums but what about Spanish Village, Junior Theater, Puppet Shows, International Village, Japanese Friendship Garden and the gymnasium?

Gerry Braun/BPCI: We want the Centennial to be the tide that lifts all boats in Balboa Park. Our planning covers the public places in the park, and the leaseholders — the ones you named and many others — retain control over their spaces. We’ve heard from almost every organization about their plans for special events, exhibitions and artifacts. The gymnasium is not in this category, it’s a public facility programmed by the Park and Recreation Department.

SDCNN: Concessions play a major role in revenue at county fairs, will space be allotted for food and souvenir venues throughout the grounds?

BPCI: You bet. We want to have a rich variety of cuisines available to the visitor, especially as they relate to the cultural festivals we will be hosting.

SDCNN: And speaking about revenue, would paid parking be considered?

BPCI: It is being considered, though no decisions have been made. We’re studying the December Nights model, in which free shuttle service is subsidized by paid parking in premium spaces.

SDCNN: The intrigue of caged animals at the first expo enticed the formation of the San Diego Zoo. Will the Zoo be part of the Centennial promotion?

BPCI: Of course.

SDCNN: Also about the Zoo — will their parking lot be stressed by the Centennial overflow?

BPCI: Because the Zoo lot is a free lot, it is stressed by every activity in the park and some outside the park.

SDCNN: Will additional attention be accorded to San Diego business, sports, education, military and scientific research?

BPCI: Our model is to make this a community-designed event, in which anyone and everyone can participate. We invite anyone who wants to be part of our calendar and marketing to let us know what they can showcase during 2015 that demonstrates the amazing qualities of San Diego to the world. We aren’t in a position to hand out money to our partners, but with Tourism Marketing District’s help, we can draw 16 million people to one of the most beautiful venues in the world.

SDCNN: Will seating be increased at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion and will the stage be used for major talent?

BPCI: The organ pavilion will be a radiant outdoor stage for concerts, theater, dance and artistic performances of all kinds. We’re naming it Centennial Stage for the year. We’d like to increase its capacity, and we’re looking at ways to do so.

SDCNN: Can the Starlight Bowl be utilized?

BPCI: Unfortunately, no. A study was performed by the Balboa Park Conservancy and the preliminary evaluation was that many millions of dollars in repairs were needed to make the Starlight Bowl safe and legal. It’s a shame that it was allowed to fall into such condition, but it’s beyond our capacity to resurrect it for 2015.

SDCNN: What is planned for the Plaza de Panama?

BPCI: The plaza will be home to our Festivals of the World, a series of internationally themed events that invite the region to the heart of Balboa Park to enjoy the sights, sounds, dance, food, music and romance of a different country each month. (Individual romantic experiences may vary, of course.) In Celebration Plaza, you’ll be able to travel the globe without leaving Balboa Park.

SDCNN: Are you considering any new structure that would be retained as a legacy?

BPCI: The City had planned that the Plaza de Panama project championed by Dr. Irwin Jacobs would have transformed the heart of Balboa Park before 2015 — adding 6.3 acres of new venues plus hundreds of new parking spaces and greatly improved access for the disabled. But that project was sidetracked by a lawsuit. That was progress enough, and so under BPCI’s agreement with the City, we can make only temporary improvements to the park. So while the 1915 and 1935 expositions left behind new buildings, gardens and plazas, we have been asked to leave the park exactly as we found it: one of the most enjoyable, scenic and educational places on the map.

For more information about the Centennial celebration and its progress, visit balboapark.org/2015/overview.

Hall of Champions honors athletes

Padres MVP Will Venable and Chargers rookie Keenan Allen, a leading candidate for NFL Rookie of the Year, head the list of nine professional athletes to be honored at the 68th annual Salute to the Champions banquet Feb. 13 at the Town and Country Convention Center.

Selected under the auspices of the San Diego Hall of Champions, other professionals to be honored include Jimmie Johnson (NASCAR champion), British Open winner Phil Mickelson (PGA), James Spithill (America’s Cup yachting), Shaun White (snowboarding), Bucky Lasek (skateboarding), Aaron Susi (indoor soccer) and Jennifer Johnson (LPGA).

Headlining the program will be the induction of Ricky Johnson (motocross), Damon Allen (pro football), Teri McKeever (swimming) and Chris Marlowe (volleyball) into the Breitbard Hall of Fame.

Additionally, Jerry Coleman will be honored with a posthumous Lifetime Achievement award, John Brockington will be presented the Ernest H. Wright Humanitarian Award, and tennis maven Ben Press will be in the spotlight as the Community Champion.

Elsewhere in the Park — the Japanese Friendship Garden has broken ground for the canyon construction of a new pavilion, signaling the start of another phase of a nine-acre expansion. Starting in March at the Garden you can enjoy the Japanese tradition of hanami, the beauty of the blossoms at cherry tree grove … PR rep Susan Chicoine has left the R. H. Fleet Science Center but not the Park. Last month she was named PR director at The Old Globe … meanwhile, the Fleet is partnering with GE, National Geographic and the Center for Science, in a national network to educate students in grades four through 12 about the future of energy. Teachers and students will have access to energy education materials that can be used in and out of the classroom …. pirates will drop anchor this month at Natural History Museum when National Geographic’s “Real Pirates: The Untold Story of the Whydah from Slave Ship to Pirate Ship” opens, featuring more than 200 artifacts recovered from the ocean floor … and, there’s plenty of space to exercise. The Balboa Park Activity Center — a 38,000 square-foot multipurpose gymnasium near Inspiration Point and the Municipal Gym next to the Air & Space Museum, are both busy with basketball, badminton, table tennis, and volleyball, including tournaments.

—Johnny McDonald can be reached at [email protected]