Arts & Culture ARTS
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wenty-one years ago, Steve Stopper was a single dad trying to raise his daughter in San Diego. A trained
sound engineer, he sought work at music venues around town, landing a gig mixing for artists and shows at the Starlight Bowl, a historic amphitheater in Balboa Park. “[My daughter] spent many evenings with me while I did sound,” Stopper recalls. “We both got bit by the theater bug.” The 4,300-seat Starlight Bowl was built back in 1935 for the 1935–36 California International Pacific Exposition. Perched in the southern section of Balboa Park between the San Diego Air & Space Museum and the new Comic-Con Museum, the amphitheater enjoyed years of success and hosted musical acts,
Local nonprofit Save Starlight is working to restore a historic Balboa Park venue to its former glory Reaching for the Stars
theater, variety shows, and cultural events. The Rolling Stones performed at the bowl in 1964 when the band was just starting out. But financial struggles shuttered the venue in 2010. Now, Stopper is working to bring back the place that shaped so many of his memories with his daughter. He founded the nonprofit organization Save Starlight in 2016, forming a team dedicated to revamping and reopening the bowl. Its first step is to repair the damage—overgrown weeds, sun- bleached seating—from years of neglect. The work will be split into two phases, with the upper section of the property opening to the public in 2024 and the main bowl following in 2025. The upgrades will be made possible by donations from local art fans and philanthropists. “They are giving money because they want to come here and enjoy it with their families,” says Angelique
BY VINCE MEEHAN
Ghadishah, vice president of operations at Save Starlight. “They were here when they were young. They want to carry on that legacy.” Stopper hopes that the new and improved Starlight will offer not only music concerts but cultural
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT Save Starlight members Steve Stopper, Vicki Estrada, Carleton Overstreet Jr. (rocking a star on his head in tribute) and Angelique Ghadishah
48 JUNE 2023
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