U.S. OLYMPIC FESTIVAL LOS ANGELES 1991 : NOTEBOOK : Closing Ceremony a Picnic for Volunteers

The closing ceremony was held Sunday, appropriately enough, in the Sunken Gardens at Loyola Marymount.

A parade of politicians took the podium to praise the volunteers who attended the ceremony, which really was a giant picnic.

“This was just a thank-you to all the volunteers,” said Harry Usher, one of the movers behind the Festival organizing committee.

Paying homage to the city and its workers were Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley and San Antonio Mayor Nelson Wolff. San Antonio will be the host of the 1993 Festival.

While the Festival party was under way, across campus in Gersten Pavilion, the Southern California Basketball Summer Pro League was being held.

People were lined outside the arena waiting to get a seat, something that rarely happened during the weeklong Festival.

But those having a grand time in the Sunken Gardens did not care.

Manuel Morales, 28, an El Salvadoran who lives in Los Angeles, was flipping hamburgers all day in preparation for the grand finale. He said he cooked 875 burgers.

“This is for the Olympic Festival,” he said. “They’ve been staying here three or four months. Everybody seems to be happy.”