After 6 Years, Park Bandstand Becomes Reality

Change comes slowly to Ojai, particularly when it involves construction.

So it comes as little surprise that resident Sara Beeby’s proposal six years ago to build a New England-style outdoor bandstand in Libbey Park has only just been brought to fruition.

“It was a very big issue,” City Manager Andy Belknap said. “It was discussed in City Council many times.”

Beeby first came up with the idea of building the wood, river rock and tile gazebo after a visit to Chatham, Mass., during a summer vacation. She attended an outdoor concert at the small town’s bandstand. It was love at first sight.

Beeby returned to Ojai and struck up her own town band and concert series. But the new 40-piece Ojai Band needed a home, and Beeby wasn’t about to settle for anything less than a near-replica of her beloved Chatham bandstand.

She faced the daunting task of raising $50,000 to pay for the 700-square-foot project, which has been named the Anson S. Thacher Memorial Bandstand, but that was the least of her worries.

There were a chowder’s worth of other problems.

“There are two schools of thought in Ojai on what to do with Libbey Park,” Belknap said. “Actually, there are probably more than two.”

One group--which counts council member Jim Loebl as an ardent supporter--would rather leave the city park open. Others don’t mind filling the open space with structures as long as they are tasteful and attract people, Belknap said.

Then there was the raven controversy. Or was it the crow controversy?

The project’s designer chose several decorative tiles for the bandstand depicting either a raven or a crow, depending how you looked at it.

Beeby was concerned about the ambiguous bird’s “potentially negative symbology,” but the architect wouldn’t budge, Belknap said.

“[Beeby] has real firm ideas about this bandstand,” he added. “The bird thing came to loggerheads and had to be resolved by the City Council.”

Then, Beeby insisted the city move a time capsule buried nearby--to be opened in the year 2076--because she worried it might cause people to trip. The council refused.

There were lengthy discussions and environmental studies about where to locate the bandstand in relation to several nearby oak trees. About the height and width . . . about sidewalk materials.

The highlight of each Ojai Band concert is the children’s parade. Children dress up and waltz around the band carrying balloons. But they need an even surface upon which to waltz.

Despite the heavily debated minutiae, the band program has become a great success, attracting as many as 300 people to Libbey Park on hot summer nights. The Ojai Band will inaugurate the bandstand this summer with the start of its annual concert series.

“[Beeby] is a very persistent woman,” Belknap said. “She had a vision and she made it happen.”