Pigeon Point Lighthouse’s 136th Anniversary Celebration, noticed on the State Parks’ website, was scheduled to take place November 15th. I’d marked my calendar long in advance after hearing from local people about this spectacle not to be missed.
We decided to catch the main event at 6 pm when the lighthouse’s lens would be lit. To arrive on time, we drove half an hour north from Santa Cruz just as the sun was setting over the Pacific.
Custom has it that the automated aerobeacon is initially switched off. The Coast Guard then lights the original first-order Fresnel lens and 24 beams of light rotate slowly around the tower, piercing the night sky for as far as 22 miles.
When we pulled into the parking lot, all was dark. Could this be intentional, for dramatic effect? We took our wee flashlight out of the glove compartment and made our way past the hostel cabins into the Fog Signal Building, which had on display a black and white photographic history of what the site looked like when it was completed in 1871.
But alas, no guide, no excited children, no crowds to commemorate the lighting of the tallest lighthouse on America’s West Coast.
Finally, wandering outside to the end of the promontory, we happened upon the hostel caretaker who informed us that the full day’s festivities – which families throughout the region looked forward to all year long – had been canceled because the State in its own judgment decided to eliminate them. What a disappointment.
Carrying on the tradition of Pigeon Point Lighthouse’s Anniversary Celebration is eminently important, especially in difficult times, not only because it provides a joyous occasion for people to come together, but because the lighthouse symbolizes a truth we need to be reminded of again and again: that in the midst of despair and darkness, there is hope and light.
This week’s image ~ above rt ~ Pigeon Point, looking south along Highway 1.
Conf: History of Pigeon Point Lighthouse.
Click here to download Pigeon Point Lighthouse park brochure.
