I have a soft spot in my heart for the Organ Pavilion. I love the stories associated with it: how John Spreckels donated the money for it to be built for the first Expo in Balboa Park on the understanding that the city would forevermore sponsor a free weekly concert there for the citizenry. How at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve, 1915, Woodrow Wilson pressed a telegraph key in the White House that lighted up San Diego’s gigantic musical instrument (still today the largest outdoor concert organ in the world), setting off a rollicking fireworks displayed and kicking off the two-year extravaganza. I’ve heard the organ played at times during the day, but it took Valerie Scher’s excellent post 
the other day on the San Diego News Network about the opening of this year’s Summer Organ Festival to finally inspire me to get to the organ pavilion at night.
Nighttime is a much more magical way to experience the organ. Extravagantly lighted, it’s a visual feast in the dark. This summer’s festival will feature artists from as far away as Argentina and Germany, as well as a movie night (Buster Keaton’s 1929 The Cameraman on August 24). For the full schedule of this summer’s festival offerings, which start at 7:30 p.m. every Monday night through August 31, go to www.sosorgan.com.
