Planning for Balboa Park Centennial Celebration Kicks into High Gear

The nonprofit group that will host the centennial celebration of the 1915 Panama-California International Exposition in Balboa Park has hired veteran special event executive Mark Germyn to consult on all aspects of the event.

Germyn has more than 35 years of international project and operations-management experience with international expositions, theme parks, museums and other educational attractions. Most recently, Germyn was the chief operating officer and USA National Pavilion director for the Shanghai Expo 2010 and oversaw the development, operation preparations, staff recruitment and sponsorship sales of the pavilion, which hosted 7.4 million guests during the six-month event. Germyn also has held executive positions with Legoland California in Carlsbad, Warner Bros. theme parks in Gernamy and Australia, Universal Studios Florida.

In his role with the centennial celebration at Balboa Park, Germyn will oversee planning efforts, fundraising and operations for the year-long event in the park in 2015. We sat down with Germyn to discuss his vision for the celebration.

Can you tell us what the centennial celebration is going to be?

The Balboa 2015 Centennial Celebration will be an exciting year-long celebration for San Diego and the region, with Balboa Park as its keystone. In honoring the 100th anniversary of the 1915 Panama-California International Exposition, we will not only celebrate an amazing historic event, but also reflect on the public’s enjoyment of Balboa Park over 100 years and its rich mix of uses and events.

We will do this in a number of ways. We’ll showcase the rich heritage and cultural diversity of our communities and the vast array of culture and art we now enjoy in San Diego. We’ll highlight the great accomplishments, efforts and innovations of individual San Diegans, organizations and companies in science and technology -- something San Diego is known for around the world -- and we will provide a showcase that looks forward to the next 100 years of innovation. And we’ll celebrate the park itself -- its landscape and architecture, its institutions and recreational facilities, its peaceful retreats and open spaces, and the countless ways San Diegans enjoy it.

What kind of events may be included in the celebration?

With Balboa Park being the keystone of the celebration, we foresee a collaborative effort by the museums and institutions to implement an exciting combination of exhibits, programs, symposiums, seminars and related events throughout the year. Against this background, and the wonderful backdrop of the Park itself, will be additional special events focusing on the arts, culture, nature, science and technology.

Celebrations are festive by nature. As such, ours will draw on the resources and spaces within the Park to bring this atmosphere to life. We see experiences that reach us physically and digitally, stimulating our senses and stoking our desires to learn about the past, present and future. We hope to give visitors reason to return frequently and enjoy different experiences than they might normally do.

Elsewhere, we envision communities and organizations producing sanctioned events and festivals that extend the wonderful palate of offerings that attract both locals and visitors to this great city and region. The 2015 Celebration is really an opportunity for everyone to further appreciate and intimately experience one of the greatest parks in America within one of the greatest cities in America. It is a “call to action” to showcase both, and to create long-term residual benefits for both.

Everyone has a unique perspective on Balboa Park, often depending on how they use it. What makes Balboa Park special to you?

Personally, I enjoy Balboa Park on several levels. First, for its natural beauty and setting, I love to jog and walk in the Park, taking in the sights and sounds. I also love the museums; there is always something of interest, whether visiting a new exhibit or revisiting one I have seen before.

The City forefathers were great visionaries in setting aside the park for future generations and again in mounting such a world-class event as the 1915 Panama California International Exposition.

Their legacy is the tremendous array of institutions and organizations that use the Park’s facilities and spaces today and the enjoyment it offers to millions of visitors of all ages and from every cultural, social and ethnic background.

Balboa Park is one of the few parks in America that offers so much through the combination of great institutions and great facilities found within picturesque natural environments. Parks are integral to a well-balanced society, both from a physical and a mental health perspective. Balboa Park, on a physical level, allows us to relax in nature, to exercise and enjoy recreation activities. Relative to mental health, its exhibits, programs and events stimulate our minds through the appreciation of nature, architecture, the arts and culture, science, technology and the world at large.

The combination of these attributes within a single park provides a unique experience that’s enjoyed on so many levels by individuals, families and groups.

You just finished a three-year assignment organizing and running the USA National Pavilion at the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai. How will that experience help you prepare for this centennial celebration?

At first glance, one might not see the connections. But to successfully plan and mount a large-scale, world-class event requires tremendous effort, dedication and support from a number of individuals and organizations as well as corporate support. This is true no matter the location, the culture, the language or the funding sources.

Above all, there must be a great story that is presented well, providing an enriching experience that creates long-lasting positive memories. This will be a guiding principle as we develop our program.

On a logistical level, over 184 days, we hosted 7.4 million guests, including diplomatic groups from nearly all of the 192 countries represented. The ability to bridge cultural differences will be paramount for us as we host a great spectrum of diverse cultures and foreign visitors.

The experience in Shanghai also reinforced in me the importance of working and communicating with stakeholders on every level.

What other assignments have you had that will help you in your new role?

I have been very fortunate in my career to have been involved in several large-scale expositions and the development of major attractions throughout the world. But I have also learned a great deal working with smaller institutions. My experiences have required strong interface and communications with local government agencies, community groups, the tourism industry and the business community. My previous experience as president and general manager of Legoland California in 2000 and 2001 provided me a great opportunity to learn and become involved with many organizations in San Diego and the region. Through that experience I discovered what a tremendous city San Diego is.

Another major event in which I was involved at a senior level was AmeriFlora ’92 in Columbus, Ohio. This was a major regional celebration event in an iconic city park, a world-class event that successfully hosted more than 2 million visitors over six months. To produce such an event required some 2,500 staff and 8,000 volunteers. Here again, success began with our working with community stakeholders, government agencies and the business community.

Elsewhere, I have worked with museums and educational institutions in Canada, South Africa and Europe and have gained a strong insight into their missions and the challenges they face individually and collectively.

How will the centennial celebration be funded?

We anticipate that a major source of funds will be corporate sponsorships of the type that are customary in this kind of event. Park institutions will provide major content for the celebration, and we anticipate that the caliber of the exhibits that are planned will enable these institutions to expand their traditional resources, foundations and personal giving.

Expanding tourism in San Diego will be a major benefit of the Celebration. The Tourism Marketing District has provided initial funding for the event and we anticipate that they, along with other tourism-promotion groups, will participate in future funding. As is now true in the park, some venues will have admission fees. But many aspects of the celebration will be free to the public.

2015 is more than three years away. What will be going on during those three years?

Working with the numerous institutions and user groups within Balboa Park will be a major focus over the next year, and we will be working with organizations and communities to see how we can sanction and integrate local and regional events into the yearlong celebration.

In concert with stakeholders, we will be soliciting ideas and developing a conceptual program which then can move forward to development and implementation. Marketing and promotion of the Celebration in the travel markets requires significant lead time, and you will see us putting efforts into these areas in the years leading up to during 2015.

Fundraising is also a major area of focus, so that we can deliver a world-class celebration without financial burden to the City. This -- combined with strong marketing and promotional efforts -- will ensure a positive economic impact to the region.

Additionally, we’ll be developing a strong volunteer program with opportunities to support this effort not only during 2015 but in the years and months leading up to it. An incredible amount of planning in terms of logistics, traffic planning, safety and security programs, takes place to ensure delivering a world class celebration that will be enjoyed by all visitors.

How is your group’s mission related to the goals of the Balboa Park Conservancy and the Plaza de Panama Committee? We share a common interest in the long-term viability of Balboa Park and its institutions, facilities and lands. With the 2015 Celebration and the efforts we make leading up to it, we hope that we can reinforce and increase the awareness of the importance of Balboa Park and leave a positive legacy for the Balboa Park Conservancy to capitalize on. As we are ourselves a nonprofit organization created specifically for the event, we will cease to exist after the Celebration is concluded. With this, any surplus funds we have generated will be transferred to the Balboa Park Conservancy for the Park’s long term benefit.

With respect to the Plaza de Panama Committee, we support study of initiatives that will significantly improve traffic flow and alleviate congestion within the Park and allow for efficient access and effective utilization of the facilities. Obviously, there must be dialogue on all proposals of merit that assesses them objectively for the long-term benefit of the Park.

How can people give you their ideas? Where should they go to learn more about the 2015 centennial celebration?

In the meantime, I encourage people to go to www.balboapark.org/2015/centennial-celebration for information and updates on this exciting celebration.