🥂 50th 50th Anniversary Celebration - West Coast*

In which city should the 50th Anniversary Celebration be based?

  • Downey

    Votes: 22 42.3%
  • Thousand Oaks

    Votes: 28 53.8%
  • Long Beach

    Votes: 4 7.7%
  • Other

    Votes: 2 3.8%

  • Total voters
    52
 
It seems that any Carpenter "pilgrimage" would have to include the former A&M Studios in Hollywood which is now the Henson Recording Studios. I looked on their website and didn't see any mention of "tours". Does anyone know if they would accommodate fans that would like to tour their facility? That would tie-in nicely if fans wanted to see their star on the "Walk of Fame" also.

I used to know someone who worked there a number of years ago and will check to see if they are still there. But I would not get my hopes up too high that it will be possible to view the interior of the recording studio building. As far as I know, the studio is almost constantly booked.
 
Most people who pass it probably have no clue what's even in there. It does just look like a warehouse from the outside (albeit a nicely kept one) and there are only tiny windows so it's not obvious or easy to see what goodies are inside.

Well, there is stylized signage on the building stating "Yesterday Once More." Probably lost on most people, but to Carpenter fans, I'm sure it would peak their curiosity.
 
Thinking out loud...
Possible sites to see for 50th anniversary SoCal bash;

  • Newville Ave House
  • Downey High School
  • Downey United Methodist Church
  • whatever the name of that park in Downey where they performed their first "gig"(?)...
  • Downey Library - I believe there is some kind of exhibit in there...
  • Close to You & We've Only Just Begun Apartments (signage still there?)
  • Former A&M Studios
  • Carpenters star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame
  • Karen's townhouse high rise in Century City
  • Huntington Library Gardens (where Only Yesterday video was filmed) - could be a great place for lunch
  • The Carpenter's Performing Arts Center at Long Beach State
  • Richard's Car Collection
  • The Carpenter Mausoleum
 
Thinking out loud...
Possible sites to see for 50th anniversary SoCal bash;

  • Newville Ave House
  • Downey High School
  • Downey United Methodist Church
  • whatever the name of that park in Downey where they performed their first "gig"(?)...
  • Downey Library - I believe there is some kind of exhibit in there...
  • Close to You & We've Only Just Begun Apartments (signage still there?)
  • Former A&M Studios
  • Carpenters star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame
  • Karen's townhouse high rise in Century City
  • Huntington Library Gardens (where Only Yesterday video was filmed) - could be a great place for lunch
  • The Carpenter's Performing Arts Center at Long Beach State
  • Richard's Car Collection
  • The Carpenter Mausoleum

I think its called "Fermin" or "Furmin" Park.

You can also add the Lubec Ave House that Richard and Karen shared, briefly, a few blocks from the Newville Avenue house.
 
About what time of the year might this take place? I travel quite a bit for business and am hoping this falls at a time where I can manage to attend!
Thinking out loud...
Possible sites to see for 50th anniversary SoCal bash;

  • Newville Ave House
  • Downey High School
  • Downey United Methodist Church
  • whatever the name of that park in Downey where they performed their first "gig"(?)...
  • Downey Library - I believe there is some kind of exhibit in there...
  • Close to You & We've Only Just Begun Apartments (signage still there?)
  • Former A&M Studios
  • Carpenters star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame
  • Karen's townhouse high rise in Century City
  • Huntington Library Gardens (where Only Yesterday video was filmed) - could be a great place for lunch
  • The Carpenter's Performing Arts Center at Long Beach State
  • Richard's Car Collection
  • The Carpenter Mausoleum
and the Hollywood Bowl
 
Thanks to everyone who provided feedback to this initial poll.

The comments regarding things to do, sites to see, etc. will be very useful when the detailed planning begins.

Just a quick note to let you know that there will be a second poll launched within the next day or two (I hope !). This 2nd poll will canvass forum members for their opinions on the timing of the event.

Stay tuned !
 
Beyond site visits, it would be fun to hear from guest speakers; I’m curious about:
  • Richard, of course
  • John Bettis
  • Joe Osborne
  • Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss
  • Randy Schmidt
  • Other writer’s and music critics who could discuss Carpenters’ legacy and impact
On another note, I visited Hollywood last year, and the duo’s star is pretty beat up. Maybe a fund-raiser to get it repaired? I’m not sure how that works, so this suggestion may be irrelevant.
 
^^I do believe that the Funds have already been raised for the
Carpenters' Hollywood Starto be replaced/repaired.
The results are posted somewhere on GoFundMe.
Now, I might be wrong....but, I think I read of it very recently....
 
On another note, I visited Hollywood last year, and the duo’s star is pretty beat up. Maybe a fund-raiser to get it repaired? I’m not sure how that works, so this suggestion may be irrelevant.

The star was fixed up in April 2017 thanks to a Facebook campaign and fans' donations. This from Facebook user Steve Manzi:

"It's amazing what can be done when a bunch of crazy fanatical fans get together to get something accomplished. A large group of friends and myself joined together to gather funds for an account created and managed by my friend, Erin Gatlin, the brainchild of this labor of love, to renew The Carpenters Hollywood Walk of Fame star installed just last week .... the photo shows the before and after ... a star now as perfect as their music is ...."

17884361_10213093548440476_9221598039478129931_n.jpg
 
The star was fixed up in April 2017 thanks to a Facebook campaign and fans' donations. This from Facebook user Steve Manzi:

"It's amazing what can be done when a bunch of crazy fanatical fans get together to get something accomplished. A large group of friends and myself joined together to gather funds for an account created and managed by my friend, Erin Gatlin, the brainchild of this labor of love, to renew The Carpenters Hollywood Walk of Fame star installed just last week .... the photo shows the before and after ... a star now as perfect as their music is ...."

17884361_10213093548440476_9221598039478129931_n.jpg
WOW! HOW COOL IS THAT!! I teared up when I saw this...
The before and after photos are striking. The star now looks beautiful! A labor of love indeed, by some great Carpenter's fans. Thank you for posting!
 
This never really registered before - The star contains the word "The".

Is it possible that the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce did not consult with Richard or his manager at the time the star was designed?
 
Hi, everyone.

It's been a few weeks now since the two polls were posted. The results indicate that the majority of respondents prefer the event to be based in Thousand Oaks sometime in late April 2019.

A number of respondents listed sites that they would like to visit during the course of the event. So I thought it would be a good idea to summarize the suggestions that have been received to date.

In Long Beach:
Carpenter Performing Arts Center (including the lobby exhibit)​

In Downey:
various Carpenter homes (Newville Ave, Lubec St., etc.)
Downey High School & Library
Only Just Begun / Close to You Apartments
Downey United Methodist Church
Furman Park​

In Hollywood / Los Angeles area:
Henson Studios (formerly A&M Studios)
Hollywood Blvd Walk of Fame Star
Karen's Condo in Century City
Beverly Hills Hotel
Hollywood Bowl
Huntington Library (in San Marino)​

In Thousand Oaks area:
Mary & Richard Carpenter Plaza Park
Carpenter Family Theater
Yesterday Once More Warehouse
Pierce Bros. Valley Oaks Memorial Park​


Keep in mind that we may only be able to "drive by" some of the above sites. Where appropriate, inquiries will be made about allowing access to persons who are attending the 50th Anniversary Celebration.

Also, parking restrictions and other logistics may require some of the above sites to be dropped. In other words, the list above should be viewed as a work-in-progress that is subject to change.

If you have any suggestions / comments regarding what sites to see, feel free to post your views. Thanks in advance for your feedback !
 
I must have missed the polls... Is the Bob's Big Boy they used to go to still around? I'd add that to the list and/or any of the other restaurants they used to frequent.

Edited to say I found the polls : ) I voted, too.
 
Last edited:
Some questions to consider (but don't worry, there's still a lot of time to think about these things):

Will there be a conference site hotel with a block of rooms at a special rate?
Will there be a bus with PA system rented for the weekend to travel to the different sites (rather than taking a platoon of individual cars and trying to find parking) and provide narration?
How many people are expected to attend (this may dictate the answer to these questions)?
How many days with this event span (looking at the itinerary, I suspect 2 or 2 and half days).
Opening reception?
Closing reception?

Just asking, as there might have to be a small fee (registration) to fund the renting of a bus and possibly event space for any receptions. Would people be open to that?

Not trying to horn in on the organizing committee here, but having both attended and been involved in planning many "conferences," these tend to be the organizational issues.
 
All good questions, Geographer.

Yes, the ideal would be to get a group rate on a block of rooms. And yes, to your question about booking a bus with a PA system for touring the sites of interest. I understand that worked quite well back in 1999.

As for attendance, that's very hard to predict - especially this far out.

I think the best approach would be to develop a tentative schedule covering a few days, present that to the members of the forum and then canvass people to commit to the event so that we can then approach a hotel with at least a rough idea of how many people might be involved.

This process won't happen overnight. (Some of us still have day jobs !) Please allow for a few weeks so that the first draft of a schedule can be developed slowly and methodically. Thanks for your patience !
 
Last week, I was down in Huntington Beach visiting my in-laws. The CPAC is so close to their place I decided to take some time to visit the exhibit there. It was totally worth it! When they raised up the screen on the gold record display case, I almost "lost it"!! Although not an exhaustive collection of Carpenter memorabilia, it would surely be of interest to any Carpenter fanatic. The staff in the lobby couldn't have been more accommodating to us (we called ahead). They even opened up the auditorium so we could check it out. And it's free! This would be a must see for any 50th anniversary (or anytime) SoCal visit.
 
Yes, indeed. We have been busy, working on getting quotes from hotels in and around Thousand Oaks.

Here is the tentative schedule:

Wed. April 24th 2019: Check-In followed by an evening reception
Thurs. April 25th 2019: Bus Tour #1 (all day)
Fri. April 26th 2019: Free Day (eg. visit 6 Flags; Reagan Library; etc.)
Sat. April 27th 2019: Bus Tour #2 (local; in the morning)
Q&A with Panelists (TBD)
Memorabilia Displays
Trivial Pursuit (the Carpenters edition)
Dinner
Sun April 28th 2019: Farewell Breakfast​


Again, all of the above is subject to change. More details will be forthcoming in the coming weeks.
 
Yes, indeed. We have been busy, working on getting quotes from hotels in and around Thousand Oaks.

Here is the tentative schedule:

Wed. April 24th 2019: Check-In followed by an evening reception
Thurs. April 25th 2019: Bus Tour #1 (all day)
Fri. April 26th 2019: Free Day (eg. visit 6 Flags; Reagan Library; etc.)
Sat. April 27th 2019: Bus Tour #2 (local; in the morning)
Q&A with Panelists (TBD)
Memorabilia Displays
Trivial Pursuit (the Carpenters edition)
Dinner
Sun April 28th 2019: Farewell Breakfast​


Again, all of the above is subject to change. More details will be forthcoming in the coming weeks.

Keep in mind, at least regarding the bus tour, there is about an 80 mile (129 km) distance (highway) between Thousand Oaks and Long Beach. And at a travel time of about 30 miles/hr. (48 km/hr) that's about six hours "on the bus" not including stops and tours. But, both Hollywood and Downey are between Thousand Oaks and Long Beach. Might be a long day for Bus Tour #1. Thousand Oaks bus tour stops could probably be done in half a day. Hopefully, that would include a private tour of Yesterday Once More warehouse?
 
Keep in mind, at least regarding the bus tour, there is about an 80 mile (129 km) distance (highway) between Thousand Oaks and Long Beach. And at a travel time of about 30 miles/hr. (48 km/hr) that's about six hours "on the bus" not including stops and tours. But, both Hollywood and Downey are between Thousand Oaks and Long Beach. Might be a long day for Bus Tour #1. Thousand Oaks bus tour stops could probably be done in half a day. Hopefully, that would include a private tour of Yesterday Once More warehouse?

Would the schedule allow for this to be done over two days? I'd suggest one day to cover Thousand Oaks to Hollywood and another to cover Downey to Long Beach. There's no way you'd get the entire 80 mile stretch and viewings/stopovers at all four places in a day.
 
Good points raised by both Geographer and newvillefan.

Right now, we are focusing on nailing down which hotel will offer the best deal. Once that is dealt with, we will turn our attention to firming up the specifics of the bus tours (plural). It may be that we will need the Friday (currently a "free day") for the 2nd bus tour.

So at this point, we can say that the dates of the celebration are set: April 24th for check-in / registration. And April 28th for the farewell breakfast.

In between those dates, Saturday April 27th is also pretty much set for: a panel discussion, a trivial pursuit contest and viewing of fans' memorabilia. Plus a dinner.

We certainly appreciate the comments and suggestions regarding the logistics of the bus tours. If the selected bus tour operator recommends that we expand the bus tours to 2 full days (rather than a day and a half), then we have the flexibility to designate the Friday as a bus tour day rather than a "free day".

Again, thanks for the comments / suggestions ! Keep 'em coming !
 
We certainly appreciate the comments and suggestions regarding the logistics of the bus tours. If the selected bus tour operator recommends that we expand the bus tours to 2 full days (rather than a day and a half), then we have the flexibility to designate the Friday as a bus tour day rather than a "free day".

I can only speak for myself but I'd be happy to cram in as much Carpenters-related events/visits/activities as possible rather than have a full day where nothing is going on...
 
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