Balboa Park “Creates the Extraordinary” with the 2015 Centennial Celebration

Balboa Park celebrates “A Year of Creativity” with their Centennial Celebration. The 2015 centennial of the Panama – California Exhibition will be a once-in-a-lifetime visual and cultural spectacle. The Balboa Park event organizers have already come up with the inspirational Theme Statement, which summarizes the idea powering the project –   “Create the Extraordinary.” This theme will be expressed in the overall “Frame” of the entire event, while the individual institutions, participants and exhibitors will conform with “Picture” by expressing the theme through presentations, exhibitions and events.

The Signature Event:

The Signature Event is expected to become one of the grandest visual and cultural spectacles the West Coast has seen in years. The Signature Event will be compromised of the entire museum campus of Balboa Park turning into a multifaceted story-telling spectacle, revealing the story of San Diego. This storyline will be visualized in different zones of the museums, with the facades turning into projection surfaces. 

The entire event sounds truly spectacular. The centennial celebration planners said, “When all these elements combine in one glorious symphony of motion, light and sound, to tell the inspiring heritage story of San Diego in a totally unexpected way, you have an “emotional souvenir” that visitors will treasure for a lifetime.”

In addition to three-dimensional animations projected in the surfaces of the museums, LED lighting will be used in all the buildings to bring them to life during the evening. Also, fountains and other water elements will be used as key parts in the story telling aspect of the spectacle. Sound and music will also play a huge role in the project, as the original music score will be delivered through the use of cutting- edge sound system technology. Visitors will also be happy to know that they can be a part of  the visual spectacle with some “digital maracas.” In addition to this, there will also be wi-fi activated technology that produces colored lights and sounds that sync with the projections. And of course, the night cannot be completed without the quintessential firework show.

The Centennial Celebration for Balboa Park strives to bring together art, culture, technology and science and “Create the Extraordinary” with the contribution of the institutions that compromise Balboa Park, artists, innovators, scientists and performers. The goal of the event is to attract millions of visitors from San Diego and from other cities to celebrate 100 years of heritage, and to kick off the next 100 in a way that only Balboa Park can.