CHANNEL ISLANDS HARBOR : Festival to Mark 30th Anniversary

Channel Islands Harbor will celebrate its 30th anniversary during the holiday weekend with a faithful re-creation of the dozens of events that marked its opening in 1965, as well as activities a bit more modern in origin.

A harbor rededication ceremony scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday will immediately precede the Mardi Gras festival, which will feature live music and Cajun food and drink, said Susan O’Brien of the Channel Islands Harbor Assn. of Lessees.

Events will include fish fries, fishing derbies, classic automobile and boat shows, a wine tasting, fun run, dramatic performances, display of harbor memorabilia and a fishing tournament.

The event will conclude Sunday with the Miss Channel Islands Harbor Beauty Pageant. Winners of the adult and teen-age categories will compete in the Miss California USA pageant.

The harbor has attracted its share of celebrities during the years. In 1925, “The Sheik,” starring Rudolph Valentino, was filmed on the site that is now the harbor. Not long afterward, Hollywood-by-the-Sea was developed, where Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy and Jane Russell vacationed. When the harbor opened, John Wayne was on hand for the event.

Many of the holiday weekend events will be free. Some of the proceeds will benefit the Alzheimer’s Assn. of Ventura County, Casa Pacifica, Oxnard High Aquatic Center and the Ronald McDonald Children’s Hospital, among others.

The Channel Islands Harbor Assn. is organizing the event. Major sponsors include Casa Sirena Marina Resort, Cellular One, KXBS-The Bus Radio, Los Angeles Times and the Whale’s Tail Restaurant. For information, call 985-4852.