Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide
Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide
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Did you know, the original BeeKay marquee was the first neon sign in Tehachapi when the theater opened in 1936? The City of Tehachapi had an exact (although more proportional) reproduction made for the BeeKay reconstruction in 2008. In honor of Tehachapi Community Theatre's 50th anniversary, here are five trivia questions about theater life in Tehachapi. (Scroll down below this article for answers.) Question 1: What does the BEE and the KAY stand for in BeeKay Theatre? A. Bell & Kalyan B. Beech...
The Apple Festival was meant to be family and especially kid-friendly. When streets are closed and the environment feels safe, parents are comfortable letting their kids go and have fun. That is what we hoped to accomplish at this year's Apple Festival. Our best estimate is that at least 2,100 kids enjoyed the bounce houses. The Tehachapi Wrestling team, lead by Curtis Nelson, kept that area safe and organized. At the far end of Green Street, thousands of prizes for games were gone in the blink...
How do you make an event exciting year to year? You look at what worked, who came and what will bring them back. The Apple Festival, which will take place this year on Green Street in Downtown Tehachapi on Oct. 13 from 10 to 6 p.m. and 10 to 4 p.m. on Oct. 14, keeps adding more family fun. Besides the traditional Kid Zone with numerous bounce houses, which kids can experience for hours on end with the purchase of a $10 bracelet, last year we had free face painting and a glider plane experience...
Aloha! I was recently blessed with being able to visit Hawaii, lava and all. Fortunately, our boat was not hit by a lava bomb. That sad incident occurred three days after we were there. My heart goes out to the tourists aboard the unlucky boat, as well as those who were killed on the duck boat in Missouri. Vacations are supposed to be fun and memorable. How dreadful when tragedy strikes. We were blessed with good luck, colorful sand beaches with sea turtles, kayaking and colorful fish beneath th...
David SteeleReed was drawn back to Tehachapi by the community arts and friendly faces in town. The Tehachapi native moved to Seattle for two years, but found the cold, wet climate not to his liking. He is back in his hometown now and was recently named Executive Producer of the Tehachapi Community Theatre. His first production, "The Importance of Being Earnest," is playing now. "I'm enjoying being back in the Tehachapi theater scene and back home at TCT after a two year absence. I took two...
Tehachapi City Council Member Phil Smith has been named recipient of the Ronald E. Brummet Regional Award of Merit for Lifetime Achievement by the Kern Council of Governments. Smith, who has served continuously on the Tehachapi City Council since 1986, has been actively involved with both local and Kern COG's regional transportation efforts. Having been elected Mayor or Mayor Pro-Tem seven times during his tenure with the Tehachapi City Council, Smith has helped facilitate several projects that...
A new year is just another day on the calendar, but the symbolic switch holds so much hope and opportunity. Although Tehachapi is my hometown, I feel there are many experiences and examples of small town charm that I never take advantage of. This year, I want to participate in more of them. Keeping with the theme of this column, here's a list of 18 activities you can do in Tehachapi this year that promote and embrace the small town charm we know and love. 1. Adorable Alpacas: Who can resist...
Can your Tehachapi Community Theatre enhance your life? The Gockel family share some of their thoughts about being a part of TCT. "Whether you're stepping into theater as an individual, or as an entire family, there are so many important life skills you're taught in the process of putting on a good show," says Nicole Gockel. "Can you give us some 'for instances'? I asked. "For one thing," says Nicole, "you're brought into a world where people can be so different from you. They believe...
If you haven't had the chance to experience the Tehachapi Community Theatre at the historic BeeKay Theatre Downtown, I would encourage you to make it a priority in the coming year. I took the opportunity to accompany family to 'The Best Christmas Pageant Ever' during its final weekend and needless to say, I was impressed. The production was cast almost entirely with our local children, telling the story about troubled kids initially using the concept of a Christmas pageant as a chance to hang ou...
The Opera House, an early Tehachapi building, was located on F Street where the College Community Health Clinic building now stands (113 East F St.), next to the little yogurt shop. It was a focal point for dances, local entertainment, meetings and silent movie films. A 1915 Tehachapi newspaper announced a Charlie Chaplain movie, The Little Tramp, being shown at the local Opera House. Margaret Erbel, a young Tehachapi resident still in her teens, was known to play the piano for the silent...
The Cemetery Club, directed by Brian Terpstra, will not only tickle your funny bone, but tug at your heart strings while reminding you of the gift of life itself. This performance is so real that you'll find yourself sharing in these five characters' joys and struggles. Masterfully performed, brilliantly directed. You need to see it. The Cemetery Club runs Sept. 30, Oct. 6, 7, 8, 13, 14, 15, 2017. All seats will be $15, and may be purchased online at www.tctonstage.com, or at Tehachapi Treasure...
We all know what it is like to lose a loved one. It is painful. It is part of life. But imagine you are a 10-year-old kid and when you come home from school one day someone tells you that your brother has died. There is pain but there is also confusion, anger, disbelief, worry and frustration because you don’t know how to express what you are feeling. To make matters worse, your family members may try to protect you by not talking about the death when you are around. Not talking about it does n...
The 20th annual Thunder on the Mountain Car and Truck Show will be held on Sunday, August 20 in historic downtown Tehachapi. Before the sun rises, classic and vintage autos will begin lining up to get a good spot near the heart of the car show – the intersection of Green St. and "F" St. At 6 a.m., car show committee members will begin directing the cars to the parking area. Thunder on the Mountain officially opens at 9 a.m., when the Master of Ceremonies welcomes participants and spectators. T...
Here is lovely Melissa Billingsley from Canine Companions for Independence (CCI) with her amazing service pup "Hiltie" during their visit to the beautiful BeeKay Theater. Hiltie's job? "Hearing Dog" for Melissa. After Hiltie was 'puppy raised' by volunteer Paul Sandberg, she was then trained as a hearing dog by CCI. Hiltie, and all of CCI's pups are custom trained for the special needs of those individuals who will receive these beautiful dogs. In Hiltie's case, she is Melissa's right hand gal...
TCT's next production begins August 4, 2017, presenting the hilarious musical comedy, "The Drowsy Chaperone". Directed by Christine Guarante, Drowsy begins with a 'man in the chair', (played by Jason Johnson) who is lamenting the lavish golden age of the stage. But then, instead of staying in his mournful funk, through an old-fashioned vinyl record, he lifts us out of the mundane into an outrageously fun and funny 1928 musical. It seems that a certain theatrical star, Janet Van De Graaf (played...
TCT's B.K. Bear holds SilentWolf's 2016 Playwrights' Festival Gold Quill Trophy for the top winning play, "The Tiniest Goodbye". Here we see B.K. and SilentWolf seated on Centennial Plaza's John King bench, named for the founder of Tehachapi Community Theater. So, who will be this year's winners? You could be the one to cast the deciding vote. Just join us this week for our annual festival. Friday & Saturday nights, June 23 and 24 at 7:30 p.m., Sunday matinee, June 25 at 2 p.m. Tickets online...
Volunteers are already preparing for the 20th annual Thunder on the Mountain Car Show. The fundraiser event will be held on Sunday, August 20 during Mountain Festival Weekend in downtown Tehachapi. The Thunder on the Mountain Car Show Committee raises money from car show registration fees, the sale of raffle tickets and tee shirts, and trophy sponsorships. Raffle tickets and tee-shirts went on sale Memorial Day weekend and will be available for purchase throughout the summer until the drawing...
My interview with Alex Zonn, president of Tehachapi Community Theater (TCT), took place while Zonn was directing "A Doll's House" by Henrik Ibsen, which opened Friday, May 5, at the BeeKay Theatre. When I first met Alex last year, we were preparing for TCT's annual Playwrights Festival. I wasn't ready to hear Zonn's voice. His distinctive pitch goes from a resounding depth reaching the furthest person in the back row of a theater to a tone that comforts the tiniest child a foot away. How did...
"It changed my life!" These words were spoken by Destinee, a Bakersfield youth. What was the "it?" The Christian Youth Film Festival in Bakersfield put on by the Christian Youth Film Society there. This young lady entered and discovered a new talent and passion that is even now, shaping her future. It's not an overstatement. Movies are the most influential communication medium today, and this young lady, because of her involvement, found a new direction and passion for life. Today just about all...
Leslie Reynolds' Memoir of Her Famous Aunt, Debbie Reynolds I first met Leslie Reynolds when she played the part of "Noah" in Tehachapi Community Theater's 2014 production of "110 In the Shade" by N. Richard Nash. Leslie was dressed in macho western garb, enhanced by a mustache Tom Selleck could admire. She was fun, funny and immensely kind. If you've ever seen any of Leslie's on-stage performances, you quickly realize the family talent gene pool didn't skimp on Leslie Reynolds. Somehow she...
Tehachapi Community Theatre (TCT) has graciously given the Kiwanis Club of Tehachapi 60 tickets to the opening night of "The Best of Broadway" concert on Friday, March 24. Tickets are being sold to raise funds to help Kiwanis Club of Tehachapi do what they do best: Help local kids. Tickets are $25 for adults, $15 for children, and it includes dinner. The Kiwanis Club will be serving George's Famous Chili, spaghetti, salad, and dessert at 6 p.m. inside Friendship Hall, at 100 East E St. in...
When Christal Wheeler accepted her role as Director for TCT's upcoming "The Best of Broadway," it wasn't exactly according to plan. Christal's love for the arts began long before she moved from Bakersfield to a small California town in the northern Sierras called Susanville. It didn't take long for boredom to set in, so Christal began looking for an outlet that might fulfill that void. Christal was always attracted to the arts, particularly music, and when she discovered Susanville's "The Best...
Tehachapi resident and famed Hollywood manager Dick Baxter has a reason to be proud of his career in show business. Not many people can say that they have put in 54 years, but Baxter has. The farm boy from Shelbyville, Indiana started Dick Baxter Management in 1963 and has never looked back. Born on a 40 acre farm near Shelbyville, Baxter grew up like most kids working on the farm and going to school. He was on the school track team but his real interest was in the field of entertainment. Even...
Tehachapi High School Advanced Drama is pleased to be performing Pride and Prejudice, written by Jane Austin. Featuring four proposals, three rejections, two marriages and one scandal, this classic adaptation, written by Rebecca Gellott, has both drama and wit. Amanda Webster, a sophomore, is playing the lead of Miss Elizabeth Bennet. She became interested in acting when performing in Cinderella at Tehachapi Community Theater. She likes the character of Elizabeth Bennet because, "She's witty....
Kay Ford and her husband lived in California City for almost 50 years. They raised a family there. However, it was when she was finally there alone at the end of last year, that her grandson, Josh, and his wife, DeVerie, asked her if she would move to Tehachapi to be closer to them. She always found Tehachapi to be a very unique place so she said, “Find me a place and I’ll be there.” It took them a couple of months to find the right house and Kay made the move to Tehachapi in January, altho...
