Our Journey

Save Starlight was founded by Steve Stopper. Steve owns and manages San Diego’s largest Audio & Visual Company. He was the former sound technician for over 10 years at The Starlight Bowl. This is where he fell in love with the magic of the venue and performing arts, spending many nights at Starlight with friends and his daughter. Once the company and previous tenets, San Diego Civic Light Opera, folded in 2012 this is when his mission started to bring back this space he was so proud and fond of. Steve knew there could be a more adaptable business model as well as his forte, technology, to better suit the space and the evolving changes in economics, audiences and performances. In 2016 he received an official 501(c)3 Non-Profit and formed the Grassroots Save Starlight Organization.

Steve’s passion was contagious and many key players helped  join to further grow and develop the organization. One of them being Welton Jones, a 35 year a theater critic for the San Diego Union-Tribune. In August 2016 Save Starlight.org held a ‘Reverse Gardening Party’ where many citizens and city officials worked hand in hand to help remove weeds and debris from Starlight’s seating area with over 400 volunteers! After this event our Organization continued our campaign to obtain the space from the City of San Diego and became active community members in the park. In December 2016 we collaborated with Park and Recreation and our organization hosted a Stage clean up, removing various debris and graffiti from Starlight’s stage, orchestra pit and walls. We continued to work on business plans and meet with City and Park officials to raise awareness about the increasing need for security, for the space to be occupied and our organization's vision in how to ‘Save Starlight’  

In December 2017 our Organization sponsored and host a Stage in the Palisades for December Nights in the park. This is also when we raised $15,000 by auctioning off a donated Fender guitar Signed by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, giving us a great funding kickstart! 

January 2018 we signed and obtained a SUP (special use permit) from the City of San Diego, making our organization the new lease holders of the space. As apart of our SUP we are collaborating with the City and Parks and Recreation in a phased approach. The past year we have been on Phase 1 of our plan and permit. This phase is the upper section of the bowl, including the ticketing booth and concessions building. Our Organization has nearly doubled in size and has secured, updated, permitted and activated the main entrance to the Bowl. Now as we enter into 2020 we will begin our second phase and new SUP. We are excited about this next big step towards our main goal of restoring the Amphitheater!

Save Starlight is passionate about this space and Balboa Park, knowing this venues unique history and how it can be re-invented.  Led by an initiative team with experience in theater technology, urban culture and revitalization, community production, historic preservation, and sustainable business. Our growing team has a deep commitment to the heritage of the Bowl and surrounding park. Our DIT (do it together) spirit is generating collective momentum across San Diego for this vision.

Keep up & follow our journey and progress on social media!