Reproduction of Ravinia's Opening Announcement.
Oak Park Journal enhanced artwork

RAVINIA FESTIVAL SEEKS MEMENTOES
AND MEMORIES IN ADVANCE OF
2004 CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION

North America's oldest music festival puts out call for programs, photos, tickets, train 
artifacts, architectural remnants and other memorabilia dating back to park's 1904 
opening

Anecdotes and oral histories will also be collected

In preparation for its 2004 centennial celebration, Ravinia is calling on all visitors to
the park over its first 100 years to search their basements, attics and memory banks for
information and artifacts that will help illuminate the rich history of North America's oldest
music festival. Materials collected will be used in a variety of exhibitions planned for 2004
and beyond. The not-for-profit music festival, located 25 miles north of Chicago, attracts
over 600,000 visitors annually to experience the world's greatest artists in classical music,
jazz, dance, music theater, world music and pop.

"Ravinia was so invested in making music over the years, it never really occurred to
anyone in our earliest days that they were making history, as well. That means that many
items that, in retrospect, should have been archived have been lost over time," said Welz
Kauffman, president and CEO. "So we're turning to the many people who have visited
Ravinia over the years in hopes that they will share their cherished memories with the
community at large. We are asking for donations of artifacts from the park's early history,
ranging from program books to the salvaged remains of the burned-down pavilion."

In more recent years, Ravinia Festival has donated items to Chicago's Newberry
Library and the Highland Park Historical Society, both of which are in the process of
creating an archive and inventory of the materials.

In addition to hard memorabilia, the Festival is also seeking written reminiscences
and anecdotes about experiences people had in the park over the years. These stories 
may be published in future editions of Ravinia's -Encore newspaper. Volunteers from the 
Ravinia Festival Women's Board are also recording oral histories with people who have 
enjoyed a long relationship with the park. People may be selected to participate in the 
oral history project based on the uniqueness of the stories they submit.

"We're eager to hear stories about first dates and first concerts, anything that reflects
the magical atmosphere of this park and the incredible events that have occurred here,"
Kauffman said.
 

Please send all written memories to Nick Pullia c/o Ravinia Festival, 
418 Sheridan Road, Highland Park, 60035. Call him at (847) 266-5012 
to discuss donation of other materials.

A BRIEF GLIMPSE AT RAVINIA HISTORY

 Ravinia opened on August 15, 1904, as a destination designed to attract riders to the
fledgling Chicago and Milwaukee Electric Railroad.

 By 1906, classical music became the mainstay of Ravinia with Walter Damrosch
conducting the New York Symphony.

 In 1908, the Chicago and Milwaukee Railroad fell into receivership. That's when the
Ravinia Park Association came to the rescue, raising $15,000 to keep the park open. To
do this, they had to increase admission from 25 to 40 cents. That year Frederick Stock 
conducted the Theodore Thomas Orchestra at Ravinia for the first time. That orchestra
would later become the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

 From 1918 to 1932, Ravinia was known as the "summer opera capital of the world,"
attracting the likes ofLucrezia Bori, Giovanni Martinelli, Rosa Raisa and Tito Shipa to
perform full-length operas in the park.

 Ravinia was shuttered by the Great Depression for four years from 1932-1936.

 In 1936, Ravinia reopened and has been the summer home of the Chicago Symphony
Orchestra ever since. Four of the CSO's legendary directors - Artur Rodzinski, Fritz
Reiner, Jean Martinon and Sir Georg Soiti - first conducted the orchestra at Ravinia
long before picking up the baton downtown.

 The original wooden Pavilion burned down in 1949. That devastating fire did not
interrupt the Festival season as concerts were performed under a 33-ton canvas tent
originally designed to hangar B-29 bombers.

 The current Pavilion doubled its size to 3,200 seats. The stage floor was designed by
choreographer George Balanchine to offer the right amount of resilience for dancers.
 Ravinia Festival hired its first of three music directors, Seiji Ozawa in 1964. James
Levine took over the title from 1972 to 1994. Current Music Director Christoph
Eschenbach took the podium in 1995.

 In 1968, pianist Edward Gordon was named Ravinia Festival's first General Manager
(1968 to 1990). He was followed by Zarin Mehta as executive director and later president
and chief executive officer (1990 to 2000). Currently Welz Kauffman runs the Festival
as President and CEO.

 In 1988, Ravinia opened the Steans Institute for Young Artists, which accepts the most
talented young musicians - specializing in chamber music, art song and, later, jazz - into
intense training programs taught by legendary performers. The Steans Institute has
formed its own touring ensemble of alumni.

 In 1995, Ravinia Festival unveiled the results of an exhaustive, two-year $13 million
physical makeover, which included state-of-the art sound system and enhanced dining
opportunities.