CELEBRATING CORONADO HISTORY Gala 2015:
‘100 Years of Islander Tradition’
Dust off your pom-poms, grab your letterman’s jacket or just don your finest duds. On March 14th, everyone will be an Islander! The Coronado Historical Association is celebrating ‘100 Years of Islander Tradition,’ at its annual fundraising gala, Saturday, March 14, at the Coronado Island Marriott.
If those duds worn during high school years no longer quite fit, guests are invited to wear CHS colors of green and white, and to gather friends, former classmates, teachers and administrators to share a table, and vie for the “Most Spirited” crown.
This special evening, commemorating Coronado High School’s wonderful history, up to and including this year’s 100th graduating class, will include cocktails in the “Tiki Room,” dinner, silent and live auctions with Islander-style booty on offer, a look back at “The Way We Were” with storytellers Nancy Cobb and Gerry MacCartee, and presentation of CHA’s annual GEM Award.* The high-school inspired gala theme was designed to complement a brand-new exhibition opening March 5th at the Coronado Museum:“INSPIRED! 100 Years of Coronado Schools.”
Unique auction item offers chance to preserve Coronado family history
Among the many enticing items on offer on March 14th, there is one CHA staff is especially excited about. For the first time, gala attendees will have an opportunity to bid on a “Family Heritage Box.” This unusual auction item offers the purchaser an unprecedented chance to assemble and preserve a legacy collection of their own family’s lives and experiences in Coronado. The Heritage Box is a museum-quality, archival box created specifically for this Centennial event. Winning bidders will have a private consultation with CHA’s professionally-trained Archivist, who will help curate their personal collection.
The filled Heritage Box will then be preserved in CHA’s climate-controlled Archives for a period to be defined by the purchaser (perhaps five years). At the end of that period, the collection will be unveiled at a private reception and viewing in the Museum for the family, where it will be on display. The Family Heritage Box would make an ideal gift for parents with a son or daughter at Coronado High School who wish to present them with a wonderful record of their school years as they head off to college, or for grandparents who have thought about putting together a family history for their grandchildren, but just aren’t sure how to go about it.
“We’ve offered many great auction items in the past that our gala attendees have generously supported, artwork, trips, luxury items, but this year, we wanted to include something a little different,” explained Mary Farley, Special Events Coordinator. “In our discussions of what it means to be preserving the history of Coronado,” Farley continued, “we recognized that as residents of Coronado, we are all facets of living history.’
“Many of our members are second- and third-generation Coronadans, with fourth generations on the way. We felt it was important to celebrate that fact. We’re really looking forward to discovering what’s in the collections that are gathered! There is so much terrific history sitting on our book shelves, in attic boxes and garages. A few lucky gala attendees are going to have an incredible experience assembling their collections, not only for themselves, but to share with future generations.”
A very limited quantity of Family Heritage Boxes will be available during the silent auction, which will take place during the cocktail hour in the “Tiki Room,” starting at 5:30 p.m., on Saturday, March 14. Minimum bid is $500. Tickets for the gala are available on CHA’s website, www.coronadohistory.org or by calling (619) 435-7242 or stopping by their offices at 1100 Orange Avenue, Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
