Festival of Arts: Board Member Spotlight

Alline Krazer

Alline Kranzer is a long-time, dedicated board member of the Festival of Arts. Her charm, humor and ideas have always stood out and added a touch of wonderment throughout the years. An ‘idea woman,’ Alline and her husband Ron work behind the scenes to add new and exciting concepts for the board to consider for the each show!

Alline writes with humor, “When I was asked for a picture of myself for this article, I thought ‘why not a painting of myself?’. I had asked one of our all-time favorite artists, Neil Boyle to create a painting as an anniversary gift to Ron, but left the subject of the painting up to him. We were thrilled with the results. I always wanted to be a barmaid!”

Alline was born in Los Angeles and is a fourth generation Californian. She and her husband, Ron, and their five children moved to San Dimas in 1966. Ron had been appointed as the first City Engineer and Alline became a kindergarten teacher in Charter Oak. She was on the Park & Recreation Commission and was also honored as Citizen of the Year in 1990.

Alline recollects the many Festival adventures she and Ron helped develop and participate in. “One of the many highlights of being active in San Dimas in 1976 was to see how the Chamber and the City worked together and founded the Festival of Western Arts. It was the beginning of many adventures including horseback rides with artists in Bonelli Park. Another year we took over the San Dimas Movie Theater and showed Spaghetti Westerns during our Salute to Hollywood Show!We even had lunch with the ‘Man of the West’, Johnny Grant. There were chili cook-offs, the festival dancers, the bonfire singing, and ‘tall tail’ talking all night in Civic Center Park.” Alline specifically remembers walking into the Spring Western Exhibition with Charlton Heston. Another year, the artists boarded a train in Pomona to their San Dimas destination. As they climbed out of the train the artists were met by ‘pretend’ bandits and the San Dimas High School Band. All were wonderful but one that stands out for its importance was when the Festival “took on the job of raising money to save and restore the Walker House.”

In closing, Alline states, “It's been a fun and interesting forty years being involved with one of San Dimas’ great cultural organizations, The San Dimas Festival of Arts. Happy 40th and many more.”

Thank you, Alline, for your commitment and hard work for the Festival of Arts.

If you are interested in supporting or volunteering for the Festival of Arts, please contact Judi at (909) 599-5374.

Part of the Festival of Arts mission is to enrich life in the community through enjoyment and appreciation of the fine and applied arts, and to emphasize student art and education. Jeanette Page is proud to be a part of this organization and encourages others to join us. For more information to join, volunteer or become a Board member call the Festival office at (909) 599-5374.