Spreckels Silent Movie Night Comes to the Spreckels Organ Pavilion

The 2019 San Diego International Organ Festival comes to a grand finale with one of the most popular concerts of the season, the Spreckels Silent Movie Night on Saturday, August 31, 2019, at 7:30 p.m. at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park.

Movie Night is in great hands this year with organist Clark Wilson who has been called a "master of silent film, and showman of the first order." Wilson has recorded seven albums, concertized in the US, Canada, and England, and done extensive silent movie accompaniment across the nation, including at the prestigious Los Angeles' Walt Disney Concert Hall where he is invited back year after year.

Films this year are Chasing Choo Choos (1927) and Sherlock, Jr. (1924) and Wilson's accompaniment comes from the world of Hollywood film music, readily recognizable as some of the world's most popular melodies.

Chasing Choo Choos was chosen in collaboration with Pacific Southwest Railway Museum Association, Inc., celebrating the Centennial of the San Diego & Arizona Railway built by John D. Spreckels in 1919. Directed by Clarence Brown and starring Monty Banks, this fast-paced comedy short culminates in a hair-raising railroad chase that was filmed along the San Diego & Arizona Railway line in San Diego's backcountry (1927; run time 21 minutes).

Sherlock, Jr., directed by starring comedian Buster Keaton, is a laugh-filled story of a film projectionist with dreams of being a detective. Buster must prove his sleuthing skill when he is framed by a rival for stealing a pocket watch that belongs to his girlfriend's father (1924; run time 45 min.)

All San Diego International Organ Festival concerts start at 7:30 PM, are family, pet, and picnic-friendly, and no cost admission is made possible by the nonprofit Spreckels Organ Society, Artistic Director Raúl Prieto Ramírez. Snacks, beverages, and gifts are available, and proceeds preserve, program, and promote the Spreckels Organ as a musical gift to humanity. The historic 1914 Spreckels Organ is the largest open-air musical instrument in the world.

For movie-lovers 21+, the best way to enjoy Silent Movie Night might be by starting with the Society's Beer and Wine Fest Fundraiser. Beer-lovers and Society friends will gather at 5:30 at the adjacent Japanese Friendship Garden to taste locally brewed beers from Mike Hess Brewing, and Fall Brewing Company, and wines selected by Robert Pizzuto of Hughes & Pizzuto. Heavy hors d'oeuvres, souvenir wine glasses (while they last), and VIP seating for the movies all included. All proceeds support no-cost Spreckels Organ concerts. Tickets $45 in advance and $50 at the door. Tickets at Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/wine-beer-tasting-fundraiser-tickets-64985328868.

For more information visit SpreckelsOrgan.org or the Spreckels Organ Society on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @SpreckelsOrgan.