KING CITY — The staff and board of Sol Treasures recently hosted an “Artstravaganza” to not only raise funds for the King City gallery and its many programs, but also to review the organization’s past and community impact.
The event was held Sept. 21 in the Salinas Valley Fairgrounds Pavilion Building, and featured an evening of homages to “Saturday Night Live” (SNL) skits, along with speeches.
The main performances began as Jim Hinderscheid attempted to speak about the current lineup of theatrical offerings, including “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Matilda Jr.” and “Something Rotten.” Board member Jamie Jones ran out dressed as SNL’s Mary Katherine Gallagher, an overly excited schoolgirl, and had a comedic dialogue about the plays.
The skit ended with Jim Hinderscheid declaring, “Live from King City, it’s Saturday night!”
Sol Treasures Executive Director Jeff Hinderscheid, himself dressed as the chatty Richman character from the “Coffee Talk” series, attempted to interview Barbara Streisand, only to be met by co-founder Barbara Pekema, who discussed the February 2008 founding with the help of Sonia Chapa and others. She focused on the theater offerings for youth.
“I knew there were lots of children in King City that were musically talented, but there weren’t many singing or dancing or places to be on stage,” Pekema said. “So I thought, why don’t we start a children’s musical theater?”
Pekema recounted working with area experts, including the Stage Hands, to host the first show.
“Since then, Sol Treasures has put on about 30 shows with over 100 children and it’s just been a wonderful experience,” she said.
Pekema hinted at future offerings when she noted the purchase of new property, where the group intends to build sets and have a small theater.
Other skits paid homage to “Wayne’s World” and “Delicious Dish,” as well as multiple interludes from “Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey.”
“The more you support us, the more we can expand the Sol Treasures staff and provide meaningful connection with the arts to today’s children,” said Jessica Riley, board president, during her speech.
Riley went over the many school districts in South Monterey County and how Sol Treasures has worked with every campus over the years.
Jeff Hinderscheid commented on a similar point about service to the region’s rural communities in his own speech.
“You want to talk about underserved? You wouldn’t even know that these places are connected to the exact same places as Carmel and Monterey and all these amazing parts of this county,” he said. “We have this awesome opportunity and this pleasure to reach out to all of those communities and impact every single one of those families and those children and we get to do it every day.”
The executive director explained the current production of “Matilda Jr.” has 34 children, 15 of whom have never been in a play or the performing arts before.
“My vision for Sol Treasures is for it to be the beacon of the arts in all of South County,” he said.
Youth benefits were highlighted with the inclusion of youth emcees who shared their stories. A few of them were even involved in the skits, including getting screamed at by character Matt Foley (played by Jeff Hinderscheid) in an attempt to motivate them away from living in a van down by the river.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we need your help as always, just like every nonprofit in the world, especially in a small community,” said Jeff Hinderscheid, when reminding the crowd of the fundraising aspects of the evening.
“Imagine if we had a larger facility to host artists in residence or to have a shadowbox theater for one act plays,” added Riley about considering what increased abilities for the organization could look like. “Or a traveling troupe in a vehicle so we could visit those schools that don’t have transportation.”
“We have this little tiny community that we grew up in and access to the arts has not always been there,” Jeff Hinderscheid said of the past. “… The creative arts affect children in a way that nothing else can. To interact with the world around them, it provides a new set of skills for self-expression and communication. It cultivates, supports important skills that benefit a child’s development.”
The evening’s dinner was steak and mac ’n cheese, served by Kleinfeldt Family BBQ and T&A Cafe from Salinas. A live auction with four items and a silent auction with 45 items were the main fundraisers, as well as a dessert table with goods baked by community members.
“Please know that every time you donate to us, we’re helping yet another one of our 4,000 kids adapt to adulthood,” Riley said.
