The 51st Bonitafest Twilight Trail Parade and Performing Arts Festival is back this year on Sept. 21, with the Bonitafest Melodrama following beginning on Sept. 25.
This year’s Bonitafest Pioneer Award for community service, chosen by the 2024 Bonitafest Planning Committee is Jerry McCormick.
“Your unanimous selection recognizes your pioneering contributions to our community, particularly your impressive leadership of the San Diego Association of Black Journalists and 22 years of Pro for a Day at Southwestern College. Your tireless efforts to increase minority representation in the American news media and to support student journalists is inspiring and greatly appreciated,” said Bonitafest General Chairman Dr. Max Branscomb in a press release.
This year’s Bonitafest Grand Marshal is Lee Romero, Bonita Vista Senior High School principal for his outstanding service to the community and the students of BVSHS.
“Your tireless efforts to attend events in the community in support of your students are inspiring and greatly appreciated,” said Branscomb.
For the Bonitafest Twilight Trail Parade, assembly is at 5:15 p.m. at the Sunnyside Saddle Club Arena at Rohr Park with the parade beginning at 6 p.m., parading the trail to the Bonita Museum & Cultural Center-Sunnyside Library complex for the Bonitafest Performing Arts Festival.
Also at this year’s Bonitafest, 2024 Miss Bonita Alicia Ontiveros, and 2024 Miss Chula Vista will take the reign as its community ambassadors.
Nicolette Luna, 18, a Southwestern College graduate now attending UC Berkeley majoring in Political Science, has worked in bringing the parade and art festival to life for three years.
“Last year, my best friend and I Lyra Rhoades, the chairwoman of the Performing Arts Festival and Twilight Trail Parade, and now that we are both in college, we have begun phasing in new chair people, coordinating with vendors, sponsors, officials, and different permissions that we need Their names are Diego Castro and Elizabeth Hoffman,” she said.
Luna said the two are doing a wonderful job working with all the clubs and vendors, and performing artists involved in the event.
“This year we will have around nine artists performing. Musical groups from the high school, local bands, singers, dance groups, and performing artists.”
Luna said the festival will begin directly after the parade and end when the last performance is completed, expecting the event to end around 10 p.m.
“A few of our notable performers are Keiler Avery, Alexis Luna, and our stars of the show our Sounds Unlimited and The Music Machine from BVHS,” she said. “During the festival there will be clubs from the high school doing funding for great causes. Our sponsors this year are David and Joana Olivera and Drs Liz & Lindsay chiropractic center. This event is free to the public, and anyone is welcome to join us in the Twilight Trail Parade. We will have stickers, pens, and glow sticks for the children. There will also be our school sports teams, and our performing artists will also be in the parade.”
This year’s 47th annual production of the Bonitafest Melodrama is “Thin Skins & Hayseeds!” Opening night with Dinner on the Patio is Sept. 25 starting at 6 p.m. The melodrama will run through Sept. 28 at the Sweetwater Community Church. For tickets, call (619) 850-7126.
Ella Aldridge, a junior at the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts, is the Youth Committee Chairwoman, Melodrama lead actress, co-writer, and songwriter for the melodrama. She said the Youth Committee is all about engaging youth into the community event.
“We focus on catering to the younger audience and having them be aware and involved in the event,” she said. “We go around to different elementary schools and hand out flyers and posters to make them aware of the Twilight Trail Parade and our community event. It is fun bringing the youth in and it is extremely nice to see the younger generation of Bonita celebrate Bonita.”
Aldridge said this year’s melodrama is like a Romeo & Juliet story but involves lemon grove and lima bean farmers in the Sweetwater Dam flood of 1916.
“I have been participating in the melodrama since 2017,” she said. “The melodrama for me is my favorite time of year because I love learning about the history of Bonita and the shows are always historical, based off events that happened in Bonita. It is a fun time because there is always a lot of comedy, it is entertaining, and there are so many talented actors and actresses.”
Aldridge said this year, Branscomb asked her to help him update and modify the script and write the closing song.
“It was really special to have this opportunity,” she said. “I was touched that Max liked my writing and songwriting enough to use it. He provides so many opportunities for us and he is so supportive through everything. Being able to see your work on the stage is the best thing in the world. He is supportive of all our passions.”
