Centennial Countdown – 269 Days

First in a series

As if Culver City just became pregnant, slightly less than nine months remain until Sept. 24, Opening Day of Centennial Year.

By now much of the community realizes that Jim Clarke is Mr. Centennial, the dreamer, the visionary, the inspiration, the organizer, the papa, the unquestioned driver of all matters Centennial.

He probably knows only 269 days remain until Culver City’s 100^th anniversary celebration is birthed.

Mr. Clarke hunches further forward in his chair as he starts talking.

“We will have three events on Opening Day,” he says. “The actual opening ceremony, from 11 until 12, will be right in front of the Harry Culver statue at The Culver Hotel.

“We will have Main Street closed off for that.”

Unless you have been inoculated against excitement, you can feel Mr. Clarke’s infectious enthusiasm leap across the room.

“Preceding the ceremonies, there will be a community parade,” said the City Councilman. “We are thinking now that the parade will assemble in Vets Park. We will go down Culver Boulevard and end about two places from where the opening ceremonies will be.”

Who will march in the parade?

That was the easiest question.

“We are inviting the entire community,” Mr. Clarke said. “Organizations, schools. We have invited our four Sister City mayors – from Kaizuka, Japan, Iksan, South Korea, Lethbridge, Canada and Uruapan, Mexico.

“We anticipate we will have the marching band from the high school. L.A. Gymnastics wants to send a gymnastics troupe to perform.

“We will encourage people to dress up. A dog parade will be part of this. Harry Culver, we found out from his grandson, Chris Wilde, loved dogs.

“We anticipate several hundred people will be participating,” said Mr. Clarke. “We will have the Police Dept., fire trucks. Helms Bakery has an old delivery truck they will roll out.”

A Downtown block party will be the final piece in the Opening Day celebration.

(To be continued)