Third Annual First Theatre Fest — September 5
Updated: 5 days ago
Third Annual First Theatre Fest
Saturday, September 5 · 11 a.m.–4 p.m. · Free
Theater, poetry, live music, local food and seven artisan makers — on the stage where California theater began.
From the Association
Friends of the Park
On Saturday, September 5, the doors of California's First Theatre swing open for our third annual First Theatre Fest — a full day of performances, poetry, live music, local food and handmade goods, all of it free.
This adobe has anchored Monterey's cultural life since the 1840s, when it hosted some of the earliest paid theatrical performances staged in California. It sat shuttered for more than two decades before reopening in 2024 following a restoration led by the association. Come see what a building can do when a community brings it back.
See you at the theatre,
The Monterey State Historic Park Association
11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
On the Historic Stage
Four acts, one afternoon
Theater · Poetry · Live Music
11 a.m.
MPC Theatre Group
The Monterey Peninsula College Theatre Arts Department opens the day on the historic stage.
1 p.m.
Poetry Friends of Monterey
An informal collective of local poets curated by former Monterey County Poet Laureate Rachelle Escamilla presents an afternoon of verse celebrating language, community and the county that connects them. With Escamilla, Kent Leatham, Ayaz Pirani, Laura Schulkind and Brian Sheffield.
2 p.m.
River Voices
A local musical group.
3 p.m.
Night Herons
A local musical group.
Additional programming will be announced.
Step Inside The Historic Saloon
Duck into the theatre's historic saloon for complimentary refreshments — and a look at the bottles, bar and playbills that have watched over this room for generations.
Popcorn and refreshments in the historic saloon.
On the Grounds
Two Local Kitchens
Café Guaraní — a family-owned Pacific Grove café — will serve traditional South American empanadas in Paraguayan and Argentine styles: baked or fried, meat-filled or vegan. Founder Liliana Rodas de Araujo has been making empanadas since childhood and is also known locally for her special-occasion cakes. The café's menu also includes yuca fries, croquettes, sandwiches and a full coffee and yerba mate program.
La Pizza Piccolo Mobile Pizza — Monterey Bay's craft curbside pizza truck — will hand-toss Neapolitan-style pizzas cooked to order on site using cold-fermented dough and California-grown produce. The truck is run by Michael Baroni out of a compact mobile kitchen.
Seven Makers
The Artisan Market
Vintage silver from Strike the Set, at a past festival.
Maria Schoettler, a Monterey-based artist and illustrator, will offer illustrated paper goods, prints and cards celebrating seasonal living, botanicals and the Central Coast. She is known locally for her illustrated “Local's Guide” brochures and her long-running Eat Local produce calendar.
Casey Starks Studio, a small-batch art ceramics studio and shop on Lighthouse Avenue in Monterey, will bring mugs, home decor, jewelry and other functional wares. Owner and artist Casey Starks hand-builds and hand-paints each piece on site, drawing on the Central Coast landscape.
Flukeprint Studio is the work of Monterey-area artist Jilly Muth Pfifferling, whose hand-illustrated prints, notecards, stickers and notepads center on ocean advocacy and the marine life of Monterey Bay, including whales, sea otters, seals and kelp.
Strike the Set will offer vintage silver jewelry.
Soleia Lane, a Pacific Grove and Carmel-based home fragrance studio and refillery, makes candles, room sprays and hand cream by hand, inspired by botanicals and the Monterey Peninsula landscape. Its products are carried locally at Carmel Valley Creamery and Nielsen Brothers Market, among other shops.
North Coast Tintypes, led by Santa Cruz-based photographer Annie, will make keepsake portraits using the 19th-century tintype process, in which a light-sensitive emulsion is hand-poured onto a metal plate, then exposed and developed on the spot to produce a one-of-a-kind image.
Amarla Handmade offers handmade bags and accessories crafted using ancestral techniques by Indigenous artisans in Colombia, blending traditional craft with contemporary design.
Sitting for a tintype portrait with North Coast Tintypes.
All Ages · All Day
Family Activities
California State Parks staff will offer free, hands-on activities for all ages throughout the day — the kind of history you make with your own two hands.
Candle rolling with California State Parks staff.
Plan Your Visit
Everything You Need to Know
Free and open to the public. No tickets, no reservations — just come.
What
Third annual First Theatre Fest
When
Saturday, Sept. 5
11 a.m.–4 p.m.
Where
California's First Theatre
Pacific & Scott streets, Monterey
Cost
Free
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