Holding the Fort

A bump in the road the size of a 12-foot dolphin statue hasn’t been

enough to dampen the spirits of Peggy Fort, who’s in charge of

planning Corona del Mar’s centennial celebration this year.

She continues to vigorously promote the event and all of the

planning that goes along with it, constantly urging community members

to participate in the process.

As busy as she’s been, Fort has still found the time to keep track

of the propositions she supports and the movies she thinks are most

deserving for best picture at tonight’s Academy Awards.

She also revealed in an interview with the Pilot’s Mike Swanson

that her October won’t only consist of celebrating the centennial --

she’ll also be running in the Chicago Marathon. One thing’s certain:

Fort loves a challenge.

How’s the centennial celebration planning coming along? Any

pre-celebratory jitters?

The centennial planning is coming together nicely. We are really

organized and on track with coordination of a series of first-class

community-wide event celebrations in honor of the 100-year birthday

of Corona del Mar. In July we will launch the centennial with a

100-day countdown to the official celebration weekend, which is Oct.

14 to 17, 2004. In addition to the fundraising and marketing, we have

a Special Events Committee, Black-Tie Gala Committee, Historic

Committee, Time Capsule Committee, School Involvement, Gala Art Show,

Merchant Promotions and an Outreach Committee. The subcommittees are

all focused and very well managed. They are working hard to organize

their various components of the celebration. We are continuing to

recruit volunteers and encourage the community to get involved in the

planning. It’s a great way to meet your neighbors and give back to

the wonderful community that we all live in. Our monthly planning

meetings are the third Wednesdays of every month at Sherman Library

and Gardens at 7 p.m. For more information or to volunteer for the

CdM Centennial Celebration, visit https://www.cdm2004.com or call

(949) 675-0501.

Has talk of the dolphin statue faded since announcing it won’t be

erected and used as the city’s time capsule?

Yes, pretty much. The Wyland sculpture was just one of the many

great projects that the committee is working on as part of the

yearlong community-wide centennial celebration.

Did community backlash against the statue surprise you, and how

did it affect all the other aspects of planning for the celebration?

No, we were not really surprised. Newport Beach is a very

conservative community and the Wyland sculpture was a big idea. I

will always be extremely proud of the committee for their work and

all the effort that was put into developing such a wonderful concept,

and thankful to Wyland, too. Even though we were let down, the whole

idea about celebration events is to bring the community together in

celebration. We did not intend to create such a controversy and by no

means wanted it to be divisive to our celebration. That’s not what

this is about.

Has it been difficult managing such a large committee thus far, or

has that done more to help field the deluge of community input?

There’s no question that the high level of community involvement

definitely has helped in the planning and success of the celebration

thus far. It has been a great experience managing the committee

because I was fortunate enough to recruit strong leadership in the

subcommittee positions and I have a lot of great support. Everyone on

the committee has been so nice and excited to be a part of helping to

plan the celebration. The active participation from the community is

exactly what is making this event so special -- and I would like to

see it grow even more.

Any clues on where the time capsule will end up, and what it will

look like?

Well, we actually have a time capsule subcommittee working very

closely with members of the community and the city. They are making

recommendations regarding the site location, concept and design

elements of the project. One concept we are currently reviewing is

incorporating the centennial time capsule enhancement project into

the “Vision Plan” for Corona del Mar. As a result of extensive

community outreach, the site location we are currently reviewing is

at the corner of Marguerite Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway. The

time capsule will most likely be in the ground with an area for

bronze nameplates with donor recognition opportunities from grants.

Do community members seem to be having fun coming up with new

ideas now that the controversial one’s out of the way?

Yes, it’s been a lot of fun. We actually have so many good ideas

regarding the time capsule enhancement project that it is almost

overwhelming. We are also fortunate to have local Corona del Mar

architect Ron Yeo lending his talents to our effort, which really

helps. Ideas regarding the time capsule enhancement project including

suggestions of what the community would like to place inside of it

can be sent to [email protected].

What area of the plan is the committee working on most

aggressively now?

The biggest focus now is on community fundraising and corporate

sponsorships. We actually started a nonprofit, charitable foundation

committed to investing back in the Corona del Mar community through

celebration of the history, education, art and physical community

enhancements for present and future generations to enjoy, while

preserving the historic significance of the village. The community

fundraising campaign and the corporate sponsorships will support all

of the community event celebrations and the proposed time capsule

enhancement campaign in the village. The Centennial Foundation,

chaired by Bernie Svalstad, is starting to get the word out to the

community and it is catching on. Committee and foundation member Bill

Dean is our fundraising chairman and we are creating a fundraising

committee to help in gaining donations. Our proposed budget and goal

is to raise at least $250,000 by October to support all of the

wonderful special event celebrations and proposed time capsule

enhancement project as part of the centennial celebration. For more

information regarding on how anyone can donate to the Corona del Mar

Centennial Foundation, please contact (949) 675-0501. We are also

working hard right now on the centennial event marketing and

community outreach. B.J. Johnson, who chairs our outreach committee,

will head up various presentations and a weekly booth at the CdM

Farmer’s Market to promote community spirit and the centennial

celebration. Stop by and say hello.

What do you miss most because of working so many hours heading the

centennial celebration committee? Have you caught any of the movies

up for best picture at Sunday’s Academy Awards? Any favorites?

Yes, sometimes the long hours can be challenging. Luckily, I

really enjoy what I do and try to surround myself with good people to

work with. That makes all the difference in the world. I do enjoy

going to the movies. This year, I actually saw all of the films

nominated for best picture. I think it’s really hard to compare which

film should win because they were all so amazing in such different

ways. My gut tells me “The Lord of the Rings” will win -- and I think

it should. The trilogy is timeless. If I ever have the time, I want

to watch all three of them over again on a rainy day. The story was

so creatively done and the visual effects were absolutely amazing. My

personal favorite movie, though, by far was “Seabiscuit.” I just

loved that movie so much! It will always be one of my all-time

favorites. I really enjoyed seeing “Lost in Translation” as well.

When the celebration’s over, do you anticipate breathing a sigh of

relief, or wishing you could do it all over again?

Well, it is certainly going to be a fun and memorable year for me.

I am also training for the Chicago Marathon, which I will run this

October as well. I know the entire committee is excited to be a part

of celebration -- so, that will really make it special. We will all

be looking forward to celebrating the centennial together with our

friends, family and the rest of the community. I’m hoping that my

family will be able to fly out that weekend from Chicago to celebrate

too. Since Corona del Mar’s centennial is the prelude to the

centennial for the entire city of Newport Beach, I don’t think anyone

will have to wish very hard to do it all over again, because we will

all have an opportunity to in 2006. I hope to see the community

spirit continue to grow and another big celebration in the works.

It’s important to keep things in perspective and remember that in

addition to all the hard work, planning celebration events like this

should truly be a fun experience.