A celebration is planned for Rumbi and Rangui, the lemon and turquoise miniature dinosaurs known as the Bonita Glarfs, as they return to Bonita after being repaired and fortified for generations to come. This event will be held at the Bonita Museum on April 12 starting at 11 a.m.
Built by 15-year-old artist Jerry Gauss in 1959, the glarfs lived on his parents’ property at Sweetwater Road and Valley Road. Gauss died in a traffic accident in 1963 while building Dinosaur World in Alpine. (Alpine’s iconic Bob the Dinosaur was built by Jerry Gauss.) In 1969 Rumbi and Rangui vanished without a trace. Chula Vista police officer Tom Everett found them in 1999 and was able to move Rumbi to Bonita Road later that year. The original Rangui, however, did not survive the move.
A creative team of teenagers from the Bonitafest Melodrama, powered by the Bonita Vista High School show choirs Music Machine and Sound Unlimited, will perform a one-hour musical narrative of the glarfs’ astonishing story at 11 a.m. Afterwards community groups will provide snacks and giveaways, including stickers, buttons, books and free copies of “Tails of Time,” the serial adventure story featuring the glarfs.
“It’s going to be a great day for everyone,” said Glarf Celebration Chairwoman Sofia Petroulias, a freshman at Southwestern College in a press release. “We have a legion of great performers who will tell the story of the glarfs and celebrate our community. It is a once-in-a-lifetime party, so don’t miss out!”
Petroulias, 19, will host the event with 16-year-old singer-songwriter Ella Aldridge, Chula Vista speech champion Syara Platero, 15, and award-winning collegiate journalist Nicolette Luna, 18. Aldridge will perform her song “Home in Bonita,” chosen in January as the Official Song of Bonita.
“I’m super happy to be part of this celebration and for the opportunity to sing ‘Home in Bonita’ in my community,” said Aldridge, a 2024-25 San Diego County 25 Most Remarkable Teenagers recipient. “It will be the first time we’ve performed the song outside for everyone in town.”
Rangui was replicated by Imperial Beach artist Kelly Tracy and the cast of the musical “When Dinosaurs Roamed the Valley” in 2006 and joined Rumbi on Bonita Road. Both glarfs were damaged in October 2021 and were removed from display. Former San Diego County Supervisors Nora Vargas and Greg Cox helped a small group of Bonita residents to hire Tracy to repair the glarfs and move them to a new spot on Bonita Road.
“A lot of people in the community came together to save the glarfs,” said Platero, who will sing “Stand By Me” at the event. “It was such a cool thing to see. I’m glad the glarfs will be living on Bonita Road for decades to come and people can enjoy them again.”
