Founded on June 3, 1770, Monterey is known for captivating locals and tourists with its 99 miles of breathtaking coastline featuring a variety of coastal landscapes for avid surfers, fishers and hikers.
Boasting Cannery Row – once a sardine packing factory, now a plethora of gift shops and seafood restaurants, heavily influenced the enamored novelist John Steinbeck. The Monterey Bay Aquarium, home to thousands of marine life, and Fisherman’s Wharf are among the present-day attractions.
During the summer, Monterey County draws in music lovers with its California Roots Music and Arts Festival, as well as the annual Monterey Jazz Festival. With the current pandemic crisis, the Cali Roots festival is being postponed until October, while the Monterey Jazz festival is hoping for a routine event come September.
Since COVID-19 has drastically affected society, Monterey’s 250th anniversary celebrations for June are on hold. The City of Monterey planned yearlong events to commemorate the milestone, including day-of community gathering to honor Guillermo Wagner Granizo’s 1984 mosaic on the Monterey Conference Center’s rear wall, and evening socializing with live music, food trucks and birthday cake.
Artists Cara Byrd, John Mason and Lance Boen have created an exquisite 15-foot abalone sculpture to celebrate the city’s historic anniversary. According to the City of Monterey, the public unveiling of the art sculpture remains scheduled for June 2 at San Carlos Beach park.
While immediate festivities are placed on hold, the opportunity to shower Monterey with a proper birthday party will come. Here’s to another 250 years!