This May, Mayor Patrick Morris will lead the city in singing “Happy 200th Birthday” to San Bernardino. San Bernardino celebrated its 199th Birthday with a party. It’s celebrating the 200th with festivities lasting from February through July. Photo by Matt Sloan
(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) It was May 20, 1810, tradition tells us, when a Spanish missionary, Father Francisco Dumetz, traveled from Mission San Gabriel to the San Bernardino Valley. He named this new locale San Bernardino after Saint Bernardine of Siena who was then the Catholics’ patron saint of that particular day. Thus was born San Bernardino 200 years ago.
On May 20, 2009, Mayor Patrick Morris and other dignitaries of state and local government, cheerleaders from San Bernardino High and a couple hundred other residents, set the stage for the 2010 Bicentennial Celebration launching the city into its third century. This 199th birthday celebration featured gourmet cake prepared by students of The International Culinary School of The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire, kicking off festivities through July 4 of 2010, marking the city’s 200th year.
Rabbi Hillel Cohn, a 47-year resident of San Bernardino, and for 38 years head of Temple Emanu El, is chairman of the Bicentennial Committee, and has plans to note this historic event “in neighborhoods, on the streets, in public venues, through the airwaves and on the Internet,” debuting the celebration’s unique logo and announcing the event’s motto — “San Bernardino 1810-2010: A Rich History. A Bright Future.”
“I was asked by a member of the City Council in 2007 to get involved since I’d also worked on the previous U.S. Bicentennial,” he recalls. “The mayor and Common Council formed an ad hoc committee to begin celebration plans and start raising funds, and in July of that year I was chosen chairperson.”
The 2010 months-long festivities debut February 18 with a public performance of “Legend of the Arrowhead” at California Theater. The historical musical satire focuses on the mysterious “arrowhead” on the San Bernardino Mountains, and is produced by the city’s Economic Development Agency.
In March and April of 2010 the city will conduct numerous beautification events and spearhead the March planting of, appropriately, 200 beautiful trees. On March 17, the California State University at San Bernardino hosts the 23rd Annual Morrow-McCombs Memorial Lecture which will explore “Can’t We All Get Along?,” reflections on 200 years of the city’s religious life.
April 12 will take a look at “Indigenous Pre-Hispanic People of San Bernardino: at the university’s Pfau Library.
The following month is slated to be a busy one, too. On May 1, the San Bernardino Symphony will perform a “Celebrate America” concert at the California Theater in honor of the city’s birthday as well as for the centennial of the Community Hospital of San Bernardino.
More music will highlight May 7 and 8 with an adaptation of Mozart’s opera “Cossi Fan Tutte” at the university’s P.A. Recital Hall.
Railroad buffs will be thrilled May 8 and 9 when the celebration debuts Railroad Days at the San Bernardino History and Railroad Museum. “We’ll be bringing in steam locomotive # 3150,” Cohn says, “which actually used to serve the city.”
May 15th will launch a “countdown” celebration with an elaborate gala at the National Orange Show Events Center, with the 16th capped by a Bicentennial Mayor’s Run downtown and a Festival of Faiths at the Western Region Little League Stadium.
May 16 will also include a Youth Safety Expo at Arrowhead Credit Union Park.
There will be a Centennial Monument rededication as well as a Bicentennial Monument dedication on the 20th at Inland Center Drive and I Street.
The Bicentennial Parade will start at 7th and E Street, ending at Meadowbrook Park, on May 22, the theme being San Bernardino from its 1810 beginning and looking toward its future. Rabbi Cohn points out, “A unique part of the parade will be the Mormon church entry with relics and costumes of the city’s earliest pioneers.”
June 17-19 will see another unique event when the city introduces the “San Bernardino’s Got Talent” competition at a location to be determined.
The exciting festivities conclude on July 4th at the 66ers Stadium in the Arrowhead Credit Union Park with a fireworks display unlike any the city has previously seen.
As if all this weren’t enough to highlight the San Bernardino’s history, a Youth Bicentennial Committee is planning even more activities and events.
In a letter read at the May 20th, 2009 launching, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger wrote, “As one of California’s oldest communities, San Bernardino has played an important role in the history of our state. I commend all of the men and women – past and present – who have made your city the fantastic place it is today, and applaud those who carry on a legacy of hard work and accomplishment.”
Rabbi Cohn is the chairman of the Bicentennial Celebration Committee, and Erin Brinker is the chair of its Public Relations & Marketing and Independence Day Extravaganza committees. Other Bicentennial Celebration Committee members are Art Guerrero (chair of Neighborhood Beautification committee) Jim Smith (chair of the Community Engagement committee), Cheryl Brown (chair of the Youth Council, Intergovernmental and Arts committees), Beverly Bird (chair of the Legend of the Arrowhead committee), Steven Shaw (chair of the History committee), David Smith (chair of the Finance committee), Jane Sneddon (chair of the Parade committee) and Martha Pinkney (chair of the Gala committee.)
These members were appointed by the mayor and members of the San Bernardino Common Council. Additional community volunteers who have taken on leadership of other committees are: Trudy Freidel (Festival of Faiths), Dr. William Coleman (Leadership Cabinet), Peggi Hazlett (Mayor’s Run), Dr. Charles “Skip” Herbert (Coloring Books for Schools) and The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire (Design).
For additional details, contact Erin Brinker at (951) 323-9337.
Rabbi Hillel Cohn, chairman of San Bernardino’s Bicentennial Celebration Committee, tells a crowd gathered for San Bernardino’s 199th birthday this year about the Bicentennial Celebration Committee’s plans for festivities lasting from January through July 2010. One of events planned is for Rabbi Cohn to give a lecture on 200 years of interfaith cooperation in San Bernardino, from the Jewish, Christian and Islamic perspectives. Photo by Yeekong Yang
(SAN BERNARDINO, CALIF.) California State University, San Bernardino’s 23rd Annual Morrow-McCombs Memorial Lecture will focus on the City of San Bernardino’s Bicentennial.
Rabbi Hillel Cohn, chairman of the city’s Bicentennial Committee, and a religious leader in San Bernardino for the past 47 years, will deliver the lecture “Can’t We All Get Along? Reflections on 200 years of Religious Life in San Bernardino” at 7:30 p.m. March 17 at the university.
Ray McCombs, a former mayor of Rialto and a life-long student of religion, established the lecture series in 1988 to further relations between Christians and Jews. Lillian Morrow was deeply impressed with McComb’s commitment to better relationships between Christians and Jews and also created an endownment to support the series.
After Sept. 11, 2001 the Morrow-McCombs Lecture Series was expanded to include Islam. Over the years some of the most prominent religious thinkers in the country have delivered the lecture including Martin Marty, Rosemary Reuther, Ellis Rivkin and David Saperstein.
The 2010 lecture will focus on successes, failures and challenges in interfaith cooperation in San Bernardino. Dr. Albert Karnig, president of CSUSB, will serve as the moderator.
Rabbi Cohn has served twice as president of the San Bernardino Clergy Association, was one of the founders of Inland Congregations United for Change (ICUC) and for the past 20 years has been a member of the Priest-Rabbi Dialogue, a project of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and the Board of Rabbis of Southern California. For many years he was a regular participant on “Religion On the Line”, a radio talk show on KABC radio in Los Angeles.
For more information on this lecture, call Rabbi Cohn at (909) 888-3666.
Rabbi Cohn is the chairman of the Bicentennial Celebration Committee, and Erin Brinker is the chair of its Public Relations & Marketing and Independence Day Extravaganza committees. Other Bicentennial Celebration Committee members are Art Guerrero (chair of Neighborhood Beautification committee) Jim Smith (chair of the Community Engagement committee), Cheryl Brown (chair of the Youth Council, Intergovernmental and Arts committees), Beverly Bird (chair of the Legend of the Arrowhead committee), Steven Shaw (chair of the History committee), David Smith (chair of the Finance committee), Jane Sneddon (chair of the Parade committee) and Martha Pinkney (chair of the Gala committee.)
These members were appointed by the mayor and members of the San Bernardino Common Council. Additional community volunteers who have taken on leadership of other committees are: Trudy Freidel (Festival of Faiths), Dr. William Coleman (Leadership Cabinet), Peggi Hazlett (Mayor’s Run), Dr. Charles “Skip” Herbert (Coloring Books for Schools) and The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire (Design).
San Bernardino’s Bicentennial Celebration logo is illustrated with some of San Bernardino’s best resources over the centuries, including arrowheads, orange groves, mountains, transportation ranging from a horse-drawn wagon to an airplane and a high-speed train, landmark buildings California Theater and Vanir Tower, and people. It will be more prevalent in San Bernardino in 2010, as the city will celebrate the 200th anniversary of San Bernardino’s founding from January through July.
(SAN BERNARDINO, CALIF.) In 2010, San Bernardino will be in the spotlight as it turns 200 years old.
San Bernardino first became known as such on May 20, 1810 – the day tradition has it Father Francisco Dumetz made his last trip from Mission San Gabriel to the San Bernardino Valley to set up a new community. Padre Dumetz named the area “San Bernardino” after Saint Bernardine of Siena, the patron saint of the day on the Catholic calendar.
That’s certainly worthy of a great celebration. But San Bernardino’s Bicentennial Celebration Committee isn’t going to stop at just one day. It’s planning a celebration lasting from January through July.
“San Bernardino has a significant history, going back to the naming of this valley in 1810,” said Rabbi Hillel Cohn, chairman of the San Bernardino Bicentennial Celebration Committee. “Since that time it has become a city with a richly diverse population. It is now time to celebrate that past, but also a future we believe will be filled with progress.”
The celebration actually began in May 2009, when San Bernardino celebrated its 199th birthday. On that date, Mayor Pat Morris unveiled a new Bicentennial Logo with the motto “A Rich History. A Bright Future.”
This logo is illustrated with some of San Bernardino’s best resources over the centuries, including arrowheads, orange groves, mountains, transportation ranging from a horse-drawn wagon to an airplane and a high-speed train, landmark buildings California Theater and Vanir Tower, and people.
In January, that logo will become more familiar when the city begins hanging street flags and banners promoting the Bicentennial Celebration.
“Our goal is to blanket the city with banners,” said Erin Brinker, public relations chair for the Bicentennial Celebration Committee. There will also be opportunities for local businesses to sponsor the flags and have their names proudly displayed around the city.
Events begin the following month, starting with performances of “The Legends of the Arrowhead “ on February 17 and 18 at the California Theater. There will be both matinee and evening performances.
This play is being produced by the San Bernardino Economic Development Agency but is based on an award-winning musical created by former San Bernardino residents Bill and Heather McCluskey in 1992. Heather McCluskey is now a nationally-known recording star in Nashville, TN, but says she got her start with her tribute to San Bernardino.
Starting March 1, 2010, volunteers will plant 200 new trees in neighborhoods throughout the city. California State University, San Bernardino students and members of local service clubs have already lined up to help.
In April 2010, a neighborhood beautification contest is planned. Each of the seven city wards will select a project to receive special attention from their neighbors and other volunteers over the four weekends in April. Local restaurants will donate food to the volunteers, and at month’s end, the Bicentennial Celebration Committee will award a prize to the best project.
Meanwhile, the committee encourages other home and business owners to do their part to spruce up their own property.
May 2010 is the biggest month of celebration, with events taking place all month.
Saturday, May 1, the San Bernardino Symphony will pay tribute to the city and to the Community Hospital of San Bernardino, which will be celebrating its centennial. Prior to the concert, symphony keyboard player Michael Tacchia will give an informative and entertaining lecture.
“Don’t miss this unique chance to be part of a celebration as we pull out all the stops in a bicentennial tribute to the City of San Bernardino,” says Conductor Carlos Ponti Jr. on the San Bernardino Symphony website, www.sanbernardinosymphony.org.
The website also notes that one of the selections the San Bernardino Symphony will perform that night is from Leonard Bernstein’s “West Side Story.” Other selections are from composers Samuel Barber and Aaron Copeland.
Ticket prices range from $20 to $55, with discounts available to students and military. They can be ordered on the symphony’s website, or by calling (909) 381-5388.
Saturday, May 15, a countdown week of celebration begins with a citrus-themed gala at the National Orange Show. This dinner-dance will feature live entertainment and visual art focusing on the history of San Bernardino.
Sunday, May 16 is a Bicentennial Mayor’s Run and a Festival of Faiths.
The Mayor’s Run is an annual event with a Bicentennial twist for 2010. This year’s 5K and 10K races start at Arrowhead Credit Union Park, home of the Inland Empire 66’ers minor league baseball team and finish at home plate.
Young people can take part in the Mayor’s Mile, which is one, two or three loops around the Arrowhead stadium. All youth who finish receive a certificate of recognition, regardless of how well they place.
The Festival of Faiths takes place at the Western Regional Little League Championship stadium. It will include an ecumenical service, open to all faiths, as well as food from all of the ethnic groups taking part. There is no charge to participate.
“It will bring the many faith communities together, particularly Jewish, Christian, Islamic, Buddhist and Hindu, as well as others, in a celebration of the diversity of faith in San Bernardino over the last 200 years,” Rabbi Cohn said. “There will be recognition of all the various faiths here, as well as worship through dance.”
Thursday, May 20 is the rededication of a centennial monument erected in 1910 and the dedication of a new bicentennial monument at the very site where Father Dumetz first established his local mission. This was in what is now known as the “Urbita” area, near Inland Center Mall.
Saturday, May 22 is a Bicentennial Parade on E Street focusing on the city’s history from its start in 1810 to the future, in accordance with the entire celebration’s theme “A Rich History. A Bright Future.” This theme is divided into three parts for the parade.
Part 1 focuses on “A Rich History.” Entries within this theme include a float from San Manuel Band of Indians with members in ceremonial dress performing bird songs; a float from Aquinas High School depicting the first Mass Father Dumetz performed in San Bernardino after traveling here on May 20, 1810 and members of the Mormon Church parading in period costumes with hand carts like they used when they first came to the area in the 1850s.
Part 2 focuses on the present and will include the Westside Steppers, drill teams, mariachi groups, churches and more. Part 3 depicts participants’ hopes for the future. Entries will be from CSUSB, San Bernardino Valley College, Gallo Technology and others.
Transcending the past, present and future, 20 youth from various ethnic backgrounds wi
thin San Bernardino will carry a large United States flag, owned by the Native Sons of the Golden West. Each youth will wear a costume depicting the land of his or her ancestors.
The Bicentennial Celebration Committee also has invited every high school in San Bernardino to send its marching band.
“It will be a phenomenal parade, the likes of which San Bernardino has never seen before,” Brinker said.
June 17-19 is a youth celebration and talent show called “San Bernardino’s Got Talent.” It’s focusing on the talent of local residents, primarily those of high school and college age.
For the finale, the Bicentennial Celebration will conclude with a fireworks show and extravaganza on July 4, 2010 at Arrowhead Credit Union Park. This evening event will include food and entertainment along with a fireworks show.
The events inside the park will be free, however there will be a $5 per vehicle charge to park at Arrowhead.
To register to be a part of any of these great days, or for more information, go to http://www.sanbernardino200.org/ or call Erin Brinker at (951) 323-9337.
Rabbi Cohn is the chairman of the Bicentennial Celebration Committee, and Erin Brinker is the chair of its Public Relations & Marketing and Independence Day Extravaganza committees. Other Bicentennial Celebration Committee members are Art Guerrero (chair of Neighborhood Beautification committee) Jim Smith (chair of the Community Engagement committee), Cheryl Brown (chair of the Youth Council, Intergovernmental and Arts committees), Beverly Bird (chair of the Legend of the Arrowhead committee), Steven Shaw (chair of the History committee), David Smith (chair of the Finance committee), Jane Sneddon (chair of the Parade committee) and Martha Pinkney (chair of the Gala committee.)
These members were appointed by the mayor and members of the San Bernardino Common Council. Additional community volunteers who have taken on leadership of other committees are: Trudy Freidel (Festival of Faiths), Dr. William Coleman (Leadership Cabinet), Peggi Hazlett (Mayor’s Run), Dr. Charles “Skip” Herbert (Coloring Books for Schools) and The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire (Design).
Mayor Patrick Morris leads singing “Happy Birthday To Us” over a cake The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire created in celebration of San Bernardino’s 199th birthday on May 20, 2009. Photo by Yeekong Yang.
San Bernardino High School cheerleaders put a crowd into the party spirit at San Bernardino’s 199th Birthday celebration on May 20, 2009. Photo by Yeekong Yang.
Aquinas High School students, members of the Bicentennial Youth Committee, are excited about plans for the revitalization of downtown San Bernardino. Some of these may take place before San Bernardino reaches its third century on May 20, 2010. Photo by Yeekong Yang.
(SAN BERNARDINO, CALIF.) “San Bernardino, you’re on your way!”
Long-time residents of San Bernardino, including Rabbi Hillel Cohn, remember a City Hall receptionist who used to send callers to the right department with the sendoff “you’re on your way.” Wednesday, May 20 Rabbi Cohn, San Bernardino Mayor Patrick Morris, the San Bernardino High School cheerleaders and about 200 others, including dignitaries from state and local government, sent the city on its way to its third century.
Wednesday’s event, a 199th birthday party for the city, complete with a gourmet cake and cookies from The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire, was the preliminary event to a Bicentennial Celebration lasting until July 4, 2010. Rabbi Cohn, as chairman of the City of San Bernardino’s Bicentennial Celebration committee, outlined some of the coming plans for San Bernardino’s 200th year and beyond.
“It’s a great day in San Bernardino,” Rabbi Cohn said, quoting another phrase many city officials have used before. ”But today is just the beginning. We have some fantastic plans for the year to come. We will celebrate in neighborhoods, on the streets, in public venues, through the airwaves and on the Internet.”
“As one of California’s oldest communities, San Bernardino has played an important role in the history of our state,” said California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, in a letter read by his Inland Empire District Director Larry Grable. “I commend all the men and women – past and present – who have made your city the fantastic place it is today and applaud those who carry on a legacy of hard work and accomplishment.”
San Bernardino will start its Bicentennial Celebration in 2010 with the Bicentennial Celebration’s logo and motto “San Bernardino 1810 – 2010: A Rich History. A Bright Future.”
In April 2010, the City will hold neighborhood beautification events all over the city, i
ncluding the planting of 200 trees.
In May 2010, celebratory events take place throughout the month.
·Saturday, May 1, the San Bernardino Symphony will pay tribute to the city and to the Community Hospital of San Bernardino, which will be celebrating its centennial.
·Saturday, May 15, a countdown week of celebration begins with a gala at the National Orange Show.
·Sunday, May 16 is a Bicentennial Mayor’s Run and a Festival of Faiths at Arrowhead Credit Union Park.
·Saturday, May 22 is a Bicentennial Parade on E Street focusing on the city’s history from its start in 1810 to the future.
For the finale, the Bicentennial Celebration will conclude with a fireworks show and extravaganza on July 4, 2010 at the Inland Empire 66ers Stadium in Arrowhead Credit Union Park.
Students from Aquinas High School have formed a Youth Bicentennial Committee, which is planning even more events.
“We have some great plans for our short term future,” said Mayor Morris. “But our long term future is the young people who are here with us today. They and those who come after them will continue to make San Bernardino a great place to be for the next 100 years.”
For more information, call Erin Brinker at (951) 323-9337.
Brinker serves along with Rabbi Cohn on the Bicentennial Committee, and is the chair of its Public Relations & Marketing and Independence Day Extravaganza committees. Other Bicentennial Committee members are Art Guerrero (chair of Neighborhood Beautification committee) Jim Smith (chair of the Community Engagement committee), Cheryl Brown (chair of the Youth Council, Intergovernmental and Arts committees), Beverly Bird (chair of the Legend of the Arrowhead committee), Steven Shaw (chair of the History committee), David Smith (chair of the Finance committee), Jane Sneddon (chair of the Parade committee) and Martha Pinkney (chair of the Gala committee.)
These members were appointed by the mayor and members of the San Bernardino Common Council. Additional community volunteers who have taken on leadership of other commit
tees are: Trudy Freidel (Festival of Faiths), Dr. William Coleman (Leadership Cabinet), Peggi Hazlett (Mayor’s Run), Dr. Charles “Skip” Herbert (Coloring Books for Schools) and The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire (Design).
(SAN BERNARDINO, CALIF.) San Bernardino is ready to party like it’s 199!
San Bernardino turns 199 on May, 20 2009 and will celebrate with a public birthday party on the steps of City Hall Plaza at 12 noon. There will be a cake created by The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire, cheerleaders from San Bernardino High School and a kickoff of a year more of celebrating, leading up to the milestone 200th birthday on May 20, 2010.
Tradition has it that Father Francisco Dumetz made his last trip from Mission San Gabriel to the San Bernardino Valley on May 20, 1810 to set up a new community. Padre Dumetz named the area “San Bernardino” after Saint Bernardine of Siena, the patron saint of the day on the Catholic calendar.
“San Bernardino has accomplished many great things in its first two centuries,” said Rabbi Hillel Cohn, chairman of the Bicentennial Committee. “And the 199th birthday is a time to celebrate and begin our focus on what can be an even greater next 100 years.”
As part of the celebration Mayor Patrick Morris plans to present a bicentennial logo with the motto “A Rich History. A Bright Future.” He will then tell about plans for the downtown area of San Bernardino. Renderings and models of these plans will be displayed.
For more information, call Erin Brinker at (951) 323-9337.
