California Dreamin’at Diegoland

The California Heritage Project

by Surfdaddy Orca

“The Legend of Josefa,” a ballet performed by the California Ballet Company in celebration of the unique aspects of San Diego’s history, is the story of starry-eyed lovers Dona Josefa Carrillo and Captain Henry Fitch. A performance as part of the California Heritage Project occurred August 4-5, 2007 at Chula Vista Bayside Park in real life.

In parallel, Diegoland sim owner Champion Valiant honored San Diego’s culturally diverse history in Second Life with three live music concerts, one live DJ, and a virtual meeting of real life Californians timed to coincide with the ballet. The starry-eyed lovers of “The Legend of Josefa” turned out to be Soulcatcher Crossing and SykNet Silverstar of Second Life who highlighted the in-world event with virtual nuptials performed by Rick Wake, a real world San Diegan.

Founded in 1968 by Robert and Maxine Mahon, the California Ballet Company presents classical ballets to an appreciative San Diego audience. “The Nutcracker,” “Coppelia” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” form a foundation for the company’s repertoire, which also includes modern and jazz works. The California Heritage Project is developing a model that will enable teachers and students to use the University of California’s Berkeley campus digital library collections to enhance their understanding of California’s history and culture and to understand their own ethnicity and the contributions of their ethnic groups to California.

Diegoland, recently featured along with San Diego State University in a San Diego Union article by staff writer Jonathan Sidener, combines entertainment venues with virtual shops, offices, museums, and homes in the historical setting of familiar San Diego landmarks such as the California Building dome and tower, the Balboa Theater, the botanical building and organ pavilion of Balboa Park, Cabrillo Bridge, the US Grant Hotel, the Horton Grand, the Hotel Del Coronado, the old Point Loma Lighthouse, the Whaley House, the Ford Building, and the USS Midway.

The California Ballet Company, the California Heritage Project, and Diegoland would seem to be a real life digital marriage made in heaven. And marriage was the theme of both the ballet “Josefa” and the union of Soulcatcher and SkyNet.

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