For Raul Prieto Ramirez, the organ at Balboa Park which dates back to 1915, is more than an instrument. It’s a big part of San Diego’s history.
As the City’s Civic Organist and the Artistic Director of the Spreckles Organ Society, Ramirez is involved with working to promote the use of it within the community.
He adds, “Although the person sitting on your right and the person on your left speaks a different language or comes from a different country or background. They get to enjoy music like you do.”
And he works with the Society to preserve it. Ramirez says, “ It’s really tough for organizations to take care of an instrument that’s 5,098 pounds. It’s an entire building.”
Aside from that, the Spreckles Organ Society also does a lot of outreach working to get the younger generation, excited about music and learning. A program the organization is looking to expand on with the help of donations.
Ramirez says, they have plans to “ Bring kids to the park to know different parts of the core like physics math history but also expose them to music they would not be able to know otherwise.”
And that’s where another staple in San Diego comes in, the Thursday Club Rummage Sale which has been around since the 1920s. Members and supporters donate items, that’s sold at this annual event.
And the proceeds are given to different organizations like the Spreckles Organ Society.
The sale has different sections from electronics to houseware to clothes and everything else in between.
Karen Shabel with the Thursday Club says, “It's the hunt for hidden treasures so we have people who come every year.
Who have been coming for decades there are people who like to roam around. Or those looking for specific things old records special object.”
