Curtain Call in the Village: Remembering the fair oaks theatre festival

For more than 40 years, the Fair Oaks Theatre Festival in Fair Oaks Village, California; known as Theatre Under the Stars, was a beloved summer tradition. Families, neighbors, and visitors gathered at the Veterans Memorial Amphitheater to enjoy plays, concerts, and community performances. This reflection honors the legacy of the festival while looking ahead to the exciting future of live arts at the newly renovated amphitheater and Black Box Theater.

In the heart of summer, Theatre Under the Stars was our Village rhythm. The Veterans Memorial Amphitheater became more than a stage, it was where neighbors, friends, and families gathered beneath the night sky. The air carried laughter, live music, and moments that could only belong to the fine folks of Fair Oaks, California.

Sure, the plays were great, but half the fun was everything happening around them. The smell of fresh popcorn, ice cream socials while we waited for the gates to open, neighbors waving as they settled in. Volunteers and the Fair Oaks Rotary Club members in the concession area selling beer, wine, and snacks. Neighbors catching up in the amphitheater aisles. And the lady who handed out seat cushions for the benches. What were they, like fifty cents each?

And yes, the chickens. Always the chickens. They never stayed politely on the sidelines. They strutted across the stage, clucked through the aisles, perched on the walls like feathered audience members, and sometimes joined the dance numbers whether they were invited or not. It wasn’t unusual to see a kid proudly carrying a rooster around, the bird perfectly content to be part of the fun. Those moments were part of the charm, part of what made it ours.

Nights to remember

Mamma Mia really did have people dancing in their seats, Mary Poppins had that sparkle of childhood wonder, and Gilligan’s Island… let’s just say it proved that sometimes TV characters should stay on the island. (IYKYK, and if you do, you’re definitely smiling right now.)

Concert nights were equally unforgettable. Tribute bands like Steelin’ Dan had everyone on their feet, proving that our little Village could throw a party as good as anywhere.

Even the nights that didn’t go as planned became part of the story. Like when rain cut a concert short, and we all ended up at Stockman’s, laughing with the band as if the show had just moved venues.

Those evenings stitched us together as neighbors and friends, and they’re the stories we’ll always carry with us.

my personal connection

Like many of you, I felt drawn to contribute to something so special. I served on the board, helped promote shows, and even built a website to showcase the productions; a labor of love inspired by the energy of everyone involved.

When I ran for Honorary Mayor of Fair Oaks in 2020, our campaign raised funds for the festival during one of its toughest years, when the pandemic forced us to find creative ways to gather and fundraise. We presented a check to Barbara Sestito with no fanfare. I think they had just begun getting the building ready for demolition. Barbara and I are standing on the stage and Kim Patillo, the CEO of the Fair Oaks Chamber of Commerce took this photo.

But the truth is, my contributions were just one piece of a much bigger picture. The heart of the festival was always the volunteers, actors, musicians, sponsors, and, most of all, the community members who showed up year after year. Without you, there would have been no Theatre Under the Stars.

change and legacy

The pandemic put live performances on pause, and while the newly renovated Veterans Memorial Amphitheater in Fair Oaks is ready for its next chapter, the Fair Oaks Theatre Festival will no longer return in its old form.

Change can be bittersweet, but it also brings new opportunities. As the Park District ushers in a new era of performances, concerts, and community gatherings, the spirit of the festival lives on; in the memories we share, in the friendships formed under the lights, and in the sense of togetherness that made Fair Oaks feel like a small town with a big heart.

keeping the stories alive

The final curtain may have fallen, but the story isn’t over. Every person who ever sat on those benches, applauded in the audience, or danced around the stage is part of its legacy.

If you were there; if you laughed, sang, danced, or even just came for the camaraderie, you helped write the story of the Fair Oaks Theatre Festival.

And I’d love to hear your favorite memory. Share it with me, and together, we’ll keep the spirit of Theatre Under the Stars alive for the next generation of Fair Oaks neighbors. https://ilovefairoaks.com/days-gone-by-share-your-fair-oaks-stories-and-preserve-our-history/

Because in the end, this was never just a small theater group. It was us; our village, our people, our joy; shining under the stars.

looking ahead: a new stage for fair oaks

As we close the chapter on the Fair Oaks Theatre Festival, we also turn the page to a brand-new era for live arts in the Village.

The renovated Veterans Memorial Amphitheater and Fair Oaks Community Center are almost ready to welcome us back for more nights under the stars. Only this time, the stage is set with updated lighting, comfortable seating with cup holders, and aisles that will be easier to navigate. It’s the same beloved outdoor space we remember; just refreshed for a new generation of memories.

And it doesn’t stop there. Inside, the Black Box Theater in Fair Oaks will open up even more possibilities. Imagine intimate plays, special performances, and community events where we can gather year-round. Together with the outdoor amphitheater, this new facility means Fair Oaks will once again be filled with music, theater, and laughter.

Of course, we’ll all have to figure out where to park; but if there’s one thing our village knows how to do, it’s come together and make it work.

The important thing is this: while the Theatre Festival has taken its final bow, the heart of live performance in Fair Oaks is not gone. It’s evolving. There will still be plays. There will still be concerts. There will still be those magical summer nights where you bump into neighbors, watch the sunset melt into stage lights, and feel that familiar joy of being part of something bigger.

Everything has it’s season, and fair oaks is entering a new one now

When we gather at the tree lighting this year, standing together in the square, I hope we all take a moment to think about how far we’ve come; and how much we have to look forward to. The stage may look different, but the spirit remains the same: a village full of heart, creating memories together under the stars.