Oceanside to Launch Seaside Concert Series

SAN DIEGO — Some farsighted people in Oceanside have come up with a new twist on the old saw that success happens when opportunity meets preparation. In this case, the principals first recognized an opportunity to better utilize Oceanside’s community band shell, and then they began preparing for a new summer concert series to accomplish that end.

The result of their efforts is “Seagaze ‘91,” the first in what organizers hope will be an annual concert series at the Oceanside Pier Plaza Bandshell. The Seagaze series, so named because of the ocean view from the plaza, debuts in late summer with three big-name shows.

Barbara Mandrell, a former Oceanside resident with longtime family ties to the city, inaugurates the outdoor triple-header with an Aug. 3 concert. The Temptations will perform Aug. 12, and Melissa Manchester closes the mini-season Sept. 19. All shows have an 8 p.m. starting time.

According to Deborah Brown, public information officer for the series’ organizing committee, Seagaze came about as an effort to fill a void.

“The band shell is used for graduation ceremonies for Oceanside High School, and I believe there has been at least one jazz concert there,” she said, “but otherwise it’s under-utilized. A few of us were sitting around talking about that one day, and we decided we needed something exciting to take advantage of the band shell, which has such a picturesque location.”

As the community relations director for the Lightfoot Planning Group, Brown routinely deals with Oceanside Chamber of Commerce and other community affairs, so she took it upon herself to investigate the possibilities. Pat Sanchez, for the past two years Oceanside’s director of parks and recreation, suggested a concert series along the lines of one he had coordinated during his tenure as recreation director in Santa Fe Springs.

Brown and a group checked out the Santa Fe Springs event and returned home convinced that a similar program would work in Oceanside.

“We started the Crest Club, a founders circle of civic-minded people--including our mayor--who were willing to donate $250 each to the project,” Brown said. “We raised $20,000, which was earmarked for promotion and production costs, paying for the acts, and other related expenses.”

Then Brown and the others on the series committee set about getting sponsors and boosting the event. The Target stores, the Fieldstone Co., UDC Homes and the city of Oceanside, which pitched in with $40,000, became Seagaze’s major sponsors. In addition to contributing funds, Fieldstone underwrote improvements to the shell itself that made it capable of accommodating professional presentations. Product sponsors include Pepsi, Lockwood Litho, North County Printers, and Oceanside’s Blade-Citizen newspaper.

“It’s been a real grass-roots effort all the way around,” Brown said. “We wanted this to be a community event in the real sense, so it was important that the concerts be affordable for everyone. Tickets are only $10 for each show, so a person could attend the entire series for $30. I think that’s very reasonable.”

In spite of the low ticket price, Brown claims that the committee is striving to create “a black-tie ambience” at the site. There will be special seating at the concerts for Crest Club members; otherwise “festival,” or open, seating will prevail.

“Even though the concerts are outdoors, we want them to have an elegant atmosphere,” she said. “But we don’t expect people to dress formally or anything like that.”

What Brown does expect is for this summer’s series to start a new tradition in Oceanside. “We’re doing three shows this time, and hopefully four or five every year from now on,” she said. “We think this will become an event that the Oceanside community will look forward to each summer as something uniquely our own.”

The Oceanside Pier Plaza Bandshell is at 200 North Strand. To reach it, take the Mission Avenue exit west from Interstate 5. Ample, free parking will be available at the end of Mission Avenue. For ticket information, call 966-4530 and ask for Michele Van Wagoner.